All of the Pieces
by DeusVenenare
Summary: Humans, demons, and gods showdown as some of Reikai's dirty secrets come bubbling to the surface. Koenma realizes that his memories of his mother have been erased, and Kuwabara is confronted with a stranger that has been having the same cryptic dreams as him. War is coming, a war that will tip the scales of the three worlds forever.
1. Exit: Light Enter: Night

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode One ]

 _Exit: Light. Enter: Night_

Wherein Kuwabara is stressed out over much more than just graduating.

* * *

The kanji on the page blurred into nonsense yet again, and I pinched the bridge of my nose in exhaustion. With a sigh of defeat, I closed my textbook with more force than I had intended, the thud echoing loudly in my otherwise quiet bedroom. Eikichi uncurled from my lap and jumped down to the floor as I rolled my chair away from my desk, the loss of her warmth noticeable. When had it gotten so cold in here?

With a grunt, I pushed myself out of my seat, giving my legs a moment to remember how to stand. I flicked on my small space heater and trudged to bed. I refused to look at the clock, knowing full well that I wasn't going to get any decent amount of sleep before my alarm. Not seeing what time it was at least let me _pretend_ that I was going to bed at a respectable hour.

My body fell into the softness of my futon, and I instinctively rolled myself into a blanket burrito. I felt the warmth of Eikichi return as she balled herself up behind the bend of my knees, as was our customary sleeping arrangement. My bleary eyes fell shut, and time flew away on the spring wind blowing outside my window.

What seemed like only a few seconds later, I jolted upright as electricity shot up my spine. My eyes opened and scanned my surroundings frantically. The familiarity of my bedroom was gone, replaced by an expanse of empty blackness. Only it was far from empty. There was energy in this nothingness, and I could feel distant eyes bearing down on me.

I stood, even though there was no floor. My bare feet felt nothing beneath me, no hard or soft, no hot or cold. The lack of any tactile response gave me a quick flashback to being inside of Itsuki's 'pet,' that ugly shadow creature that had swallowed me and my friends as Urameshi had battled with that nutbar Sensui. This was different, though. This didn't feel threatening, just... weird.

"You might as well show yourself, I know you're there," I called into the void, my calm voice not betraying the adrenaline coursing through me. This was not my first inter-dimensional rodeo, no sir.

No response came for what seemed like several minutes, and I blinked indignantly. If you didn't know that was possible; it is, because I did it. My hands curled into fists and I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"Damn it, I have a long day tomorrow, what the hell do you want?"

Nothing. Again.

"This isn't funny! Show yourself now or- SHIT!" I screeched, jumping back as a dark, hooded figure popped into existence mere inches from my face. My spirit sword flared to life in my hands, white-hot and painfully bright against the surrounding darkness.

A pale hand rose up from the cover of the cloak in a placating gesture. It looked almost disembodied against the shadowy backdrop. My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword as both of the figure's hands came up, grabbing the edge of the hood, and draping it back delicately. My breath hitched at the face revealed before me.

A woman, beautiful and glowing like the moon. She locked her silver eyes with mine and a soft, inviting smile curled her lips. Her black hair shimmered with the golden reflection of my sword, long curls pouring over her shoulders. She had the features of a young woman, possibly in her thirties, but her presence was vast and ancient, like a towering redwood.

My eyes stung as I felt tears building. The kind of tears that come when you are reminded of something dear that has been lost for a long time. The kind of tears that came to me as a child when I was visited by the spirit of my grandmother for the first time. "Who are you?" I whispered, almost too quietly to hear.

"My sweet Kazuma, I am you."

The voice washed over me, a vibration that I felt in my bones. All of the air escaped my lungs and gravity suddenly reversed, sending me falling upwards. My body filled with an intense heat that, by all rights, should have burned me alive. The surrounding darkness became a swirling hurricane of colors, bright and consuming. It was chaos, beauty, and pain all rolled into one. There was only one thing I could do.

I shut my eyes and I screamed.

My eyes opened to see Shizuru standing in my bedroom doorway holding two paper cups from the coffee house down the street. She tucked one in the crook of her arm and stepped over to my bedside table, clicking off the alarm that I had only just realized was buzzing obnoxiously. My senses slowly returned to me and I sat up, my head filled with the kind of fog you feel when you wake up from anesthesia. How was it daylight already?

"You usually look scary in the morning, but that's a special kind of fucked up you got going on today baby bro," my sister deadpanned and held out one of the cups for me.

Her morning gifts of coffee had become tradition since I had started at Mushiori University, as had her morning gifts of insults. I absently grabbed the offering, letting the warmth of the cup in my hand ground me back into reality. I was used to vivid dreams and nighttime visits from vagrant spirits, but that had been too visceral to brush off.

Shizuru sighed and took a swig from her cup, slapping her hand down on my shoulder. She brought her face level with mine, her serious expression boring a hole into my soul. "It wasn't a dream. I heard the voice in your room when I came up the stairs," she said simply and turned to leave.

I swallowed my heart back down from my throat, unsure if that input helped or hurt the situation... but I would have to figure all of that out later. My computer science professor's grating voice scratched at my mind, reminding me that ' _if you're not early, you're late.'_ I'd have to get a move on to make it to my train in time.

"Oh," Shizuru paused at my doorway, her mouth skewed by a smirk, "by the way, Kazu, you scream like a girl."

My pillow whizzed towards her head like a tomahawk missile, but she sidestepped it with ease, disappearing into the hallway like the damned trickster god she was. From the corner of my room, Eikichi mewed, and I swear she looked disappointed in me.

I hadn't even started on my coffee and I was already done with the day.

Despite my rough start, the day went by pretty quick. On my way home, I decided to take a small detour into downtown. Spotting the familiar sign of Urameshi's ramen cart on the corner, my shoulders eased down from my ears. He may be an asshole, but the asshole makes a mean bowl of ramen. Food would help clear my head. Classes had gone on without incident, but the strange aura of the woman in my dream had taken over my thoughts for most of the day. I had been too distracted to take notes of any value, and I knew that would come back to bite me, but nothing except her eerie voice seemed to matter.

" _I am you."_

My legs froze mid-stride as I spotted a shadowy reflection in the window of the electronics store beside me. A fleeting image of black, curly hair, that faded into nothing as quickly as it came. My eyes fixed on the televisions on display, the familiar logo for Megallica flashing across the stacked screens. Scenes from a few of their music videos played, with scrolling text proclaiming their next concert date in Tokyo. Hell yeah! Despite the shenanigans of scary ghost lady, she had great timing. I busted out my small notebook and wrote down the date, the only useful note I had managed for the day.

"Oi!" Urameshi called out as I closed in on his rolling business. He turned up his nose at me and frowned, looking as serious as he could with that goofy sweatband of his. "Didn't think I'd see you until you graduated, Mr. I'm-Too-Good-To-Return-A-Phone-Call."

"You left six messages on my machine, drunk off your ass at the strip club with Chu."

His face broke into a toothy grin as he leaned into the cart, reminiscing. "Yeah, so?"

"Yukina was in the room," I replied coldly.

His eyes rolled so hard, I was sure they'd fall out. "Yeah, sooooo?"

"The two of you started to sing a duet about titties and I had to unplug the phone!" I bellowed, shouting _'titties'_ in public much louder than I really should have.

Urameshi belly laughed so hard that he snorted, which made him laugh even more. I just clenched my teeth, jaw ticking in annoyance. It had been hard enough in the past to convince Yukina that my nights out with Urameshi were innocent fun, but after that, it would prove impossible. She trusted me wholeheartedly, but she certainly didn't trust him not to drag me into something ridiculous somehow. Getting into ridiculous situations was the Mazoku's forte.

Before I had realized that his laughter had died off, Urameshi was pouring me a bowl of ramen. He placed a generous portion of sliced pork on top before handing it to me, which I accepted with a smile. He knew I couldn't stay mad if I had food. I was about to ask for chopsticks, but he already had them out, waving them at me in a circle. Asshole was a pro.

Small food carts like his were a dying breed here in Mushiori City. He had a corner on the market, with two other carts floating around town, manned by a friendly set of demon twin brothers he'd met in Makai. They were quite passable as human to the average Joe until you got a good look at their reptilian eyes, which they kept behind dark sunglasses.

"You know," I muttered between mouth-fulls, "You would make a killing if you opened up an actual restaurant."

"Ugh, you sound just like Keiko," Urameshi groaned.

"Great minds think alike."

"You know I hate being tied down to one spot," he huffed. I could tell he was talking about more than just business with that comment, but I let it slide. His wild streak had died down a lot after the first Makai Tournament, but a few years had passed since, and the demon heir was growing restless. He hid it well from Keiko, but he couldn't hide it from me. It was like watching a tiger pace in a cage, unnatural and depressing.

Noticing that Urameshi's dark eyes had narrowed in frustration, I decided to change the subject. I tossed my now empty paper bowl in the trash can behind me, pulled out my pocket notebook, and scribbled down a date. "Here," I said, tearing out the paper, "Megallica is coming back to Tokyo the week after I graduate. Make plans, I'll order your ticket."

He snatched the paper from my hand and grinned, looking very much like his mischievous teenaged counterpart from years ago. My internal _'oh shit'_ meter spiked. "I am SO getting in the mosh pit!"

"You'll kill some 40-year-old metal dad," I warned.

"Not if I get in there with you and ragdoll your ass," he taunted, sounding more and more like the old Sarayashiki punk with every word.

I could feel the heat rising in my gut, and my fists clenched. "As if you could, you Iron Chef lookin' little shit!"

The people in the office building beside us didn't even have to pay for tickets to see the best brawl in town.

* * *

[A/N] Okay, this is my first attempt at a fanfic in like, 8 years. I've been so embarrassed to start back up, but I've been egged on for a while now, so here we go! Please feel free to visit my Tumblr at deusvenenare -doot- tumblr -doot- com where I will be posting mood boards and updates for each chapter, various inspirations, song lists, and I will be answering your questions! This story will be formatted rather... strangely, with each chapter told from a different character's perspective. Please bear with me as I attempt this new (for me) adventure. Hope you enjoyed, loves. :)


	2. We Live it Our Way

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Two ]

 _We Live it Our Way_

Wherein Yusuke just wants to mosh.

* * *

I watched with amusement as two teenagers, acting far too innocent to be believable, were waved into the stadium by security. The glass bottles hidden in their jackets were clinking, but the guard was obviously bored out of his mind and couldn't care less. The amateurs would have been toast if they had gone in through any of the other doors where more diligent guards were posted. Wasn't anybody teaching the new generation to use plastic bottles if they wanted to sneak in booze somewhere?

My senses focused in on the strong energy making its way through the crowd and I pushed off of the concrete pillar I had been resting against. I caught sight of Kuwabara's ginger pompadour over the mass of people on the sidewalk, sticking out like a shark fin in open water, and started off towards him. When he came into full view I saw Yukina and Shizuru on either side of him. Shizuru was decked out in all black and a leather jacket, with her ever-present cigarette hanging from her painted red lips. I'd never say anything for fear that she'd murder me, but she ranked a 10 out of 10 tonight, for sure.

Kuwabara cleared his throat when he noticed me eyeing his sister –hey, it wasn't the first time– and I deflected with my best, guiltless smile. He just sniffed at me and pulled a ticket from his back pocket, pointing it at me accusingly. "Hey guys," I greeted innocently as I took my ticket.

Yukina came forward and hugged me tightly, and I returned it in kind. This chick was practically my little sister now, and she could always stop time with her hugs. She let go and looked up at me, her eyes full of warmth in spite of her naturally cool body temperature. "Good to see you, Yusuke!"

"You, too, Yukina," I smiled as she returned to her fiance's side. If ever there was a couple mismatched in height, it was those two.

"You ready?" Kuwabara asked, eagerly nodding to the stadium. He was trying his best to be cool and mature, but his inner fanboy was bubbling just beneath the surface.

"Hell yeah, lead the way," I gestured for him to go ahead, but he was already marching towards the door with a purpose. I took up stride behind them, sandwiching the girls between him and myself as we headed inside. Not that these women weren't forces to be reckoned with in their own right, but even after all these years, I still instinctively moved in formation.

We made our way to the pit just in front of the stage, and I absently wondered how much these damned tickets had cost. In the pit at center stage? _Damn_. Kuwabara wasn't the kind of guy to screw around when it came to his concerts. The only people in front of us were the groupies lining the stage, while behind us were the wide-eyed moshers, chomping at the bit to get started. The smell of too much perfume from the former and not enough deodorant from the latter was a pungent mix.

The lights blacked out a heavy silence fell over the crowd, no one really sure if it was part of the show or a power outage. Moments later, a single bass chord roared from the speakers, triggering the spotlights to illuminate the completely empty stage. The floor of the stage began to open up, and a plodding beat hammered out as a platform rose in the center, revealing the band and their instruments. The platform locked into place with an ominous mechanical _click_ , and the lead singer of Megallica turned to the audience, growling a long, low note in greeting. The crowd erupted in excited screams, and the guitars chimed in with fevered, angry chords, mimicking the excitement of the fans.

"Are you ready, Tokyo?!" The bearded man shouted in English, eliciting a roar from the crowd and a sea of metal horns reaching for the sky.

The spotlights flashed and turned red, smoke flowed up from the stage, and a snarling bass-line began rumbling through my lungs. I bobbed my head in aggressive appreciation as the first song began, excited for the good part, the mosh pit, to start up in earnest. Beside me, Kuwabara scooped up Yukina and steadied her on his shoulders so she could see the action. Her smile was infectious as laser lights danced across her face, and I felt all of my stress melt away into the vibrations washing over us. This was going to be good.

I was just preparing to throw myself into the churning cauldron of angry metalheads to kick things off right when I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Shizuru had grabbed me, her eyes steadily trained on the stage. I followed her gaze and noticed the guitarist, with her rich copper skin and black pixie cut. She was most definitely not the long-haired white dude from the posters. Smokey tendrils of energy snaked from her fingertips and wrapped around the guitar, almost too faint for me to see, but they obviously stood out to Shizuru.

The energy grew bigger, and Kuwabara slid Yukina down and tucked her in tightly under his left arm, going into protective pit bull mode. As the unknown guitarist slid to center stage on her knees, completely lost in the solo, I was hit with an aura pulse that stretched out over the whole audience. No one but my group seemed to notice how everything suddenly looked more vivid, kind of like we had been swallowed up by an oversaturated photograph.

The noises of the crowd became silent, but they still moved their mouths and bobbed along as if nothing had changed. The only sounds we could hear were the fast, precise notes of the guitar crying out. I felt a wave of heat shoot off of Kuwabara as his eyes widened in a look of surprise –no... that was recognition. I didn't have time to wonder what was happening before he quickly guided Yukina back into Shizuru's arms, pushing them both towards me to guard. My skin prickled with adrenaline and I smirked.

"Kazu, what's going on?" Yukina's small, confused voice called out to him.

He couldn't even respond before a blast of energy erupted on stage, sending the entire band reeling, and knocking the guitarist into the crowd in front of her. The sounds of the arena quickly returned in a rush of confused shouting and ear-splitting feedback from the mics. At the center of the blast, a portal stood, and three new figures appeared at its mouth, clad in gray uniforms and stone-faced expressions that screamed ' _I'm too much of a douche bag to crack a smile.'_ I recognized them immediately as my good ol' buddies, the Special Defense Force.

"What the hell are they doing here?!" Kuwabara's confusion sounded just as deep as mine. The SDF were Enma's goons, and last time I checked, that giant asshole was long-since deposed.

The blond SDF soldier in the center held out her hand, a crackling cord of green energy shooting from her palm into the throng of groupies in front of us. They all scattered in fear, fleeing into the rest of the concert-goers as they started stampeding for the exits. The cord wrapped around the guitarist that was crumpled on the concrete, lifting her limp body back up towards the stage. Kuwabara and I looked to the girls in unison, prompting an understanding nod from Shizuru.

"I'll get Yukina out," she said simply before grabbing the ice apparition's arm and sprinting off, bowling her way through the herd of escaping civilians like a linebacker.

The rest of the band had managed to scurry away, leaving only the trio of soldiers on stage, looking like a poorly dressed idol group. I leapt up to the stage so they wouldn't have the higher ground, Kuwabara following suit, and I leveled my trigger finger at the woman who appeared to be their commander. "I would ask why you guys are here, but I'd much rather just start shooting," I growled.

"Demon trash!" The blond woman shrieked, throwing her captive into the arms of the big, red-haired guy at her side, before leaping at me with a sword drawn. I parried quickly, stepping to the outside of her attacking arm and pushing it away, sending her off balance. She tumbled toward Kuwabara, who had his spirit sword already drawn, and he disarmed her easily. Good thing he'd gotten over his aversion to fighting women and engaged her because the third SDF soldier was already charging me.

I dodged a few punches from the short, but fast, man as he attacked with a flurry of energized punches, before sending him flying into a stack of speakers with a solid uppercut. I had no time to blink before I was blindsided by a fireball from the red-headed golem. My eyes narrowed as I steadied myself –ugly bastard had just burned through my favorite shirt!– and I aimed my spirit gun right between his eyes, but he quickly lifted the guitar girl up as a human shield.

"Oh, I'm the trash, huh? You're really going to hide behind an unconscious woman?" I spat at the brute.

Just as the rocks in his head looked as if they had cooked up a good comeback, the blond came flying across the stage into him, leaving them both in a tangled heap. I shot an approving smirk to my ginger friend before diving forward, scooping up the bound guitarist before the idiots could untangle themselves. I was back at Kuwabara's side in a flash, my gun and his sword pointed squarely at the punks center stage.

"Retreat!" The commander ordered as she righted herself.

The small one clamored out of the pile of speakers and stumbled for the portal that his comrades had quickly disappeared into. As soon as he was through, the portal fizzled shut, leaving nothing but a burnt patch of stage behind. Everything was abruptly quiet, every scuff of our shoes echoing through the now empty arena. I sighed, slightly disappointed that I hadn't gotten to shoot anything.

Kuwabara's sword faded and he came to my side, examining the wilted body I had tucked under my left arm. I gently set her down on the stage, careful of her head as blood seeped from a gash on her scalp. Her skin was singed and bruised in a few places, but her chest moved with steady breath, and no bones were sticking out. I peeled off what was left of my shirt and wrapped it around her head to slow the bleeding.

"C'mon," I said, hoisting the woman up, "let's get out of here before we draw in a news crew."

Kuwabara nodded wordlessly, watching the woman like a hawk. He seemed oddly transfixed with her, like she might sprout a few more heads at any moment. "You alright, man?" I asked.

"Yeah... I'll uh... I'll tell you about it after we get out of here," he sighed, dusting himself off.

We headed off to the exit that Shizuru had made a beeline for earlier, our footfalls the only sound between us. I could tell by how his shoulders were still tensed that something was eating at Kuwabara, but I knew he wouldn't break his silence until he calmed down enough to sort through his thoughts, so I decided to take his mind off of it. With a grin, I jabbed him in the side with my elbow, careful not to tilt my unconscious cargo.

"So, those tickets are non-refundable, eh?"

"Shut the hell up!"

* * *

[A/N] Thank you for reading episode two, loves! I hope I don't put off too many people with my planned perspective shifts. I know it's unusual, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I hope y'all will enjoy my experiment! I plan to update every week, and I have the complete storyline mapped out, so stay tuned. ConCrit is always appreciated. ;)


	3. A Bustle in Your Hedgerow

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Three ]

 _A Bustle in Your Hedgerow_

Wherein Kurama is always prepared. Almost.

* * *

The shrill ring of the telephone broke over the honeyed tones of cello dancing from my stereo, prompting me to finally look up from the book I had been lost in. My clock read 11:06 and I promptly went to the phone; calls at this time of night were rare and usually pressing. Unless, of course, it was Yusuke calling to serenade me about the delights of the female form again.

"Hello, Minamino– " I greeted, only to be interrupted by Kuwabara's raspy voice.

"Oi, Kurama, some funky stuff went down at the concert, and, uh –DON'T TOUCH MY COMPUTER URAMESHI– and I've got this weird chick on my couch. I could use some help figuring this out," he mumbled.

"Give me 15 minutes," I replied, unphased by that odd combination of details. Kuwabara wasn't the type to ask for help if there wasn't something serious going on.

"Great, thanks," the click of the receiver and a dial tone were his goodbye.

Grabbing the motorcycle jacket from the hook by the door, my keys already in the pocket, I made my way three flights down. My red EX500 was there to greet me outside, shining in the moonlight, and I quickly mounted up. The engine roared to life with a turn of the key, and I darted off into the dark streets. The nimble bike acting like an extension of my body, I zipped through back alleys and quiet residential streets on my familiar path to the Kuwabara household.

The crisp light of the moon and the cool night air wrapped my body with comfort. My human life was filled with warmth and family, for which I would always be thankful. The simple but gratifying tasks of working at my stepfather's shipping business afforded me a cozy existence, but when this short human life finally came to an end, I would return to the unforgiving and endless landscape of Makai. I would miss this moon terribly when that time came.

I parked in the narrow stretch of driveway behind the small sedan that Kuwabara's father drove on the rare occasion he wasn't overseas on a photography assignment. Secretly, I had always wondered how that giant of a man fit into such a small car, but that was a curiosity to be investigated at a later time. Before I could raise my hand to ring the doorbell, Shizuru opened the front door. Even when I kept my energy disguised, her impressive spirit sense could feel me coming.

"Shizu," I smiled, which she returned in kind.

"There's fresh coffee in the kitchen, you're going to need it," she said, gesturing for me to come in.

I obliged, slipping off my jacket and shoes by the door. The small entryway opened up to the living room, and I made a quick stop in the adjacent kitchen to pour a cup before taking a seat. There was always hot coffee or tea waiting for me here, and it had become custom for me to grab a drink before taking my favorite seat by the window during my visits. I had spent almost as much time here as I had in my apartment over the last few years, and I considered it an extension of my own home. The Kuwabara family would have it no other way.

A shirtless Yusuke waved at me as I entered the living room proper, his eyes not moving away from his game of Resident Evil on the TV. Yukina stood and came to give me a hug, her red eyes inquisitive. I knew what she was about to ask, and I was afraid I didn't have a comforting answer for her.

"Have you heard from him?" She questioned.

"I'm sorry, not yet," I sighed, watching her shoulders slump in disappointment. She had long since puzzled together that Hiei was her brother, even if he was still too stubborn to speak it directly. It didn't matter to her, though. Her love for him was deep, and since he had fallen off the radar in recent weeks, I had watched the worry eat at her. She returned to her perch beside her fiance on the couch, who was staring anxiously at the strange woman lying on the love seat.

I took my customary seat in the chair by the window and observed their unconscious guest. Her skin was a warm tawny, features soft and young, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her spiky black hair and studded leather garb looked harsh compared to her peacefully sleeping frame, her left arm covered in a full sleeve of tattoos. It was an odd motif, a black snake coiled around the length of her arm on a backdrop of henbane flowers. Her scent was entirely human, along with hints of whiskey and vanilla.

Yusuke cursed as his video game persona was consumed by the undead, and he set the controller down before turning to me. He proceeded to fill me in on the events at the concert, gesturing to animate the action, and emphasizing the fact that his favorite shirt was completely ruined now. I listened to his account, noting that Kuwabara remained silent through the entire story. The psychic was holding something back, I could feel it.

"So, Kuwabara," I started, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, "care to tell us the rest?"

Kuwabara reacted to my body language exactly as I'd hoped, tipping himself away from me slightly. He scratched his neck nervously and sighed, throwing his arms over the back of the couch. "Okay, so I had this freaky dream a couple of weeks ago. A woman came to me, and when I asked who she was, she just said 'I am you.' Then, when _that_ one," he said pointedly, glancing at the comatose woman, "activated her territory at the concert, I heard that woman's voice again."

"Did this woman in your dream look anything like her?" I asked, pointing at the guitarist.

"No, dream lady looked like an old-fashioned Japanese Empress," he sighed.

"Any idea why this woman was there in place of the regular guitar player?" I pressed.

"Not a clue," Kuwabara grumbled.

"Hey, guys," Yusuke chimed in, nodding to the mysterious woman as she stirred.

Her lids opened lazily, and she held her hands out in front of her face, stretching and wriggling her fingers as if she had temporarily forgotten how to use them. I subtly stretched my aura out to touch hers, testing for a reaction, and she immediately shot up and focused on me with laser precision. Her gray eyes locked with mine, and I casually pushed my hair back from my shoulders, fishing out a tiny seed. Her gaze was observant but calm, and I sensed her heartbeat raise only a small fraction. This woman was far too collected while waking up in a strange environment; she had my full attention.

Kuwabara sat up straight, while Yusuke remained relaxed, with his legs propped up on the coffee table. Yukina took the lead by speaking first, fully aware of her calming demeanor and how to use it to diffuse a situation. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked with a disarming smile.

The woman nodded silently, curling her finger into a tear in her shorts where, I deduced by the small bloodstain, there had once been a cut. "You healed me," it didn't come out as a question but as an observation. Her low, smoky voice was thickly accented, but her Japanese was easy to understand. "Thank you," she said, quiet but sincere.

"You're welcome. Would you like some water?"

"Yes, please," she replied, swallowing a few times as she became suddenly aware of dryness in her throat.

Yukina stood and shuffled to the kitchen, leaving the four of us to sit for a moment of taut silence. Shizuru's absence was expected, as she was using her 'smoke break' as a cover to stand guard outside. My hand dropped slowly, and I rolled the seed into place underneath the love seat. All of the pieces were exactly where they needed to be to prevent this situation from getting potentially out of hand.

"You don't seem surprised to wake up in a stranger's house," Yusuke cut right to the point, as usual.

Yukina returned with a bottle of water, which the woman squeezed a couple of times and observed the seal on the cap before she opened it. It took her only a few large gulps to empty it. With a sigh of relief, she glanced up at Yusuke, a thin smirk on her lips. "I travel with rock stars. Do you have any idea how much they drink? Waking up on strange couches is in the job description," she quipped.

There was obviously more to it than that, and we all knew it, so Kuwabara decided to change the angle of attack. "So who are you, and why were you on stage instead of Dirk?"

"Name's Lyra. I'm Dirk's guitar wrangler, so I keep his babies tuned, cleaned and polished. I'm also his jam partner when he's arguing with the rest of the band, which is _always_ ," she let out with a long-suffering sigh. "Some groupies brought him a bottle of rum before the show, which he chugged, like an idiot. He was worshiping the porcelain god when everybody was supposed to take the stage, so he waved me out at the last second."

"And the territory you put out over the audience? What was its purpose?" I interjected, my fingers laced over my knee.

Lyra considered my question for a moment, her eyes never losing sight of me for more than a few seconds during our exchange. Judging by her subtle movements and glances, she considered me to be the greatest threat in the room.

"Territory?" She seemed confused by the terminology.

"You know, that thing you did with the guitar, pushing your energy out into the crowd," Kuwabara supplied.

Her eyes lit up. "Ah, so you guys have a special name for it? Sounds fancy," she mused with a light chuckle. Her shoulders relaxed and she sat back into the cushions. "I did that to see if the person I've been looking for might be in the audience. Normally I have to do it from behind the scenes, I've never had the chance to let it loose on stage before..."

"And just who the hell were you looking for?" Yusuke blurted out, obviously growing irritated.

"Him," she said plainly, holding up a finger to Kuwabara. When she saw him tense, she lowered her arm and smiled warmly, all of her defenses seeming to drop in an instant. Her eyes began to sparkle with burgeoning tears, and I sensed a low, almost imperceptible vibration fill the room. "The woman in my dreams told me to find Kazuma."

No one had told Lyra his name yet, I was sure no one had spoken it. There was an odd presence approaching outside, but Shizuru hadn't alerted us yet, so I maintained my focus on Lyra. The vibrations were growing stronger, but my gut didn't warn me of any danger. Still, the small seed I had rolled under the woman sprouted as a precaution.

"Why did she tell you to look for me?" Kuwabara seemed distant, lost deep within a memory.

Lyra shrugged, but her face maintained its cordial smile. "I'm not sure, she just told me to find you... that you and I were the last remaining 'pieces.'"

Yukina set a concerned hand on her lover's shoulder, conscious of the curious emotion building behind his eyes. "Pieces of what?"

"My mother's soul."

Everyone shot a surprised look to the new voice in the room. Koenma, in his adult form, stood at the step of the entryway, dressed in unassuming street clothes.

Kuwabara blinked.

Yusuke blinked.

I blinked, all of my chess maneuvering going full sail out the window. " _Mother?_ "

* * *

[A/N] Ah, I always imagined Kurama to be the motorcycle type, so I couldn't resist! The fox is a hard one to write, so I hope I did okay on this one. Please R&R if you have a chance, and stay tuned for next the episode! I will be updating every Saturday unless I have a change in my work schedule. Don't forget to check out deusvenenare -doot- tumblr -doot- com for mood boards and updates. Thank you for reading, lovelies!


	4. Just for Me, the Church Bells Rang

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Four ]

 _Just for Me, the Church Bells Rang_

In which Lyra just tries to keep up.

* * *

The newcomer by the door was an odd looking man. He was dressed normally enough, but the 'Jr' tattooed on his forehead was horribly out of place. Granted, face tattoos weren't a new sight for me, but I had always seen them on much _burlier_ faces than his. This guy had delicate features, looked like he could have been in a boy band. Everyone regarded him with varying levels of shock, the only one retaining a modicum of composure was the scary one with blood red hair.

'Junior' stepped into the room, positioning himself in front of the television with purpose. Everyone watched him with full attention, save for the aforementioned red head. No, that one kept his unnerving gaze on me like a well-trained guard dog, and I was quite sure he was prepared to kill me if I so much as breathed wrong. He was simultaneously the prettiest and scariest thing in the room.

"I know this is abrupt, but we must take this conversation to a safer location," Mr. N*SYNC announced, "I've arranged two transports, one to take Shizuru and Yukina to Genkai's property for protection, and one to take the rest of us elsewhere."

Kazuma Kuwabara, the only one in the room whose name I knew, shot up and gestured at the minty-haired woman beside him. "No way, Koenma! They aren't going anywhere without me until I know what's going on," he stated firmly.

Ah, so 'Junior' is Koenma. It didn't seem like anyone was in the mood for proper introductions, so I just tried to keep up as names started flying.

"I'm sorry Kuwabara, there is no time to explain. The SDF is already on the move to find us, and if they catch wind of where I am, we are in for a war. Jin and Toya have already been contacted, and they will keep an eye on Yukina and your sister at the dojo," Koenma said, his voice calm and matter-of-fact. "They will be safer being away from us for right now."

Seeing as how ' _us_ ' included me at the moment, I didn't find that statement comforting.

The beautiful woman stood, placing a soothing touch on Kuwabara's elbow. Their combined energy vibrated in harmony like an old married couple, and I couldn't help but smile at them. "Shizuru and I will be fine," she said, an underpinning of strength in her soft voice that prompted a sigh from him.

"Alright, let's get a move on," the shirtless guy huffed as he hoisted himself from the couch. His strange aura hummed a tune of excitement beneath his nonchalant body language and James Dean hairdo. Was he actually happy about being hunted?

I waited until everybody began moving toward the door before I rose from my seat, cautious not to make any sudden moves in this crowd. I didn't trust any of them yet, and they certainly didn't trust me. I had known, deep down, that following the whims of that persistent woman in my dreams would land me in a strange predicament, but there was no backing out now, and I had faced that reality as soon as my territory had collided with these titans at the concert.

These titans that couldn't all possibly be human.

The news of the three 'demon' women who had made themselves public in Japan four years ago had quickly faded into tabloid fodder, being written off as actresses trying to pull off an elaborate hoax. No others had popped up after those girls, but I had long since suspected that it was just swept under the rug after multiple religious groups had sent death threats. I had no doubts that the women had been legit, however, I could practically see their auras through the television.

I knew in my heart that demons were real, but I never expected to actually _meet_ any. The powerful energies that surrounded me now were way above my pay grade.

The men took up formation around me without speaking a word, like old battle buddies. Kuwabara walked in front of me, keeping me distanced from Koenma and the woman, and the other two followed behind me as we walked out of the house. It was the same oppressive feeling of being escorted by the police, but with a thousand times the weight.

Waiting outside there were two black SUVs idling by the curb, and I half expected to see some FBI suits patrolling the lawn. The only person in view, however, was a tall brunette leaning against the lead vehicle, half-smoked cigarette hanging from her lips. She waved the other woman to her, and they quickly ushered into the back seat, the obscured driver taking off almost as quickly as the door had closed.

The rest of us filed into the second SUV, Koenma taking shotgun, Kuwabara and James Dean sandwiching me in the middle seat, and the red-headed guard dog silently taking the third row. The driver turned to us with a cheery smile, blue ponytail bobbing with unnatural pep. "Oh, it's so good to see all of you again!" She chirped in greeting.

"Botan?! Uh... do you even know how to drive?" Captain Shirtless squawked as we started to roll.

The woman laughed dismissively, winking into the rear view mirror. "Of course I do, Yusuke! I've spent the last two hours practicing diligently."

With that, Botan floored it and took a sharp left, squishing my guards and I together into the door. Yusuke peeled himself off of me and quickly fumbled for his seat belt. "We're gonna die," he deadpanned.

I was unfamiliar with traffic laws in Japan, but we had to have broken a few dozen of them as we sped through the night. The pretty blue-haired girl had to have been joking about only just learning how to drive because she was handling this oversized beast with the quick precision of a rally car driver. Her reaction times were insane. It was terrifying, but admittedly, fun as hell.

Our journey ended with screeching tires in front of a squatty brick building that housed a few small stores. We poured out, Koenma silent, but looking a little green around the gills as he unlocked the door to one of the shops. I couldn't read the sign, but the giant pink donut painted on the window offered a good clue. Once we were all inside, Koenma locked the door behind us, spirals of light snaking out from the door to cover the entire room before quickly fading away. The magic was foreign to me, but it reverberated powerfully in the air.

Silence fell over us for a few moments before Kuwabara exploded into a hail of flailing limbs and annoyance. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON?!"

Koenma let out a sigh of resignation, producing a fat manila folder from behind his back – where had he been hiding that? – and set it on one of the tables. "This is Reikai's file on my mother, the goddess Kannon. I believe that my father killed her some time ago, and she has managed to reincarnate herself into a small group of humans... including the two of you," he looked pointedly at Kuwabara and myself.

 _Goddess_? Well, that escalated quickly.

"Wait, you've never mentioned your mother..." Yusuke's brow knit as he trailed off in thought.

When Koenma didn't continue, the quiet red head started skimming the mass of papers. "Memory erasure successful... ward holding on subject: Koenma," he began reading aloud, "Target identified: Rudra Patel... eliminated... Noel Andersen... eliminated... Clara Marquez... eliminated... Everyone here has the same birth date, February 27th–"

"1976," Kuwabara and I finished in unison. Our eyes locked as we spoke, and I lost my breath as I gazed into his sparkling gray depths for the first time. Our skin tone and our features were markedly different, but our eyes shared the same color. That cryptic dream lady could have at least _warned_ me. I found myself a seat as my legs began to wobble.

"We were barely able to escape Reikai with this information," Koenma cut in, his face serious. I couldn't get a feel for his emotional vibrations yet, and it was unsettling.

"Escape?" The red head asked, his critical green eyes standing out in the dusky shop.

"Oh, Kurama, it was terrible," Botan sniffled, her words thin and shaky, "the Special Defense Force stormed the Gate of Judgment with numbers like I've never seen."

Finally, a name for the stoic guard dog; Kurama.

"So Enma is back in power," said Kuwabara, his large hands balling up at his side.

"Yes, and I have a bounty on my head," Koenma sighed, his damnable lack of emotion causing me anxiety.

Botan sat in one of the booths with a dramatic plop, weariness painted over her as she rubbed her face in her hands. "The corruption goes deeper than we ever imagined. Lord Enma had Koenma's memories of his own mother erased, and he's been steadily picking off people that presented signs of harboring Kannon's soul for the past twenty years," she shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, "I even ferried one of them without ever knowing... she was only f-five..."

She finally broke, her body collapsing into mournful sobs. Yusuke was at her side in a hurry, arm wrapped around her shoulders as if he could protect her from the pain bubbling up from her heart. She cried into his chest and I watched his eyes harden into a cold fury that sent a shockwave up my spine. There sat an animal that could ravage nations, and I silently prayed that I would never have to stand in front of him.

Kurama continued to process through the paperwork, his fingers pausing for a moment as if he'd found something. He motioned for me to come closer and I tentatively slid his way, unsure of his plans. Noticing my hesitance, he gave me a small, but hollow, smile as his aura slowly untangled from its thorny guard. He presented the page to me, filled with Japanese characters that I couldn't read, but the picture pinned to the top made me gasp. I pulled it from the page and held it to my chest in fond remembrance.

Both of my grandmothers stood in the photo, holding hands with a toddler-aged me under a grand Louisiana willow. Granny Euna, warm ebony skin and a mile-wide smile, and Granny Hope with her pink freckled cheeks and piercing blue eyes. Those women came together to raise me when my parents dropped off the map. Those women were fierce, powerful psychics, and everything I could hope to be. I had lost them in a house fire four years ago, one that had nearly taken my life as well.

My heart dropped. No.

"Why is this picture in here, Kurama? What does this page say?" I asked, my voice barely cracking above a whisper.

His lips pursed and he didn't begin to speak. _No._

"I can't read this... please..." I pleaded again, my voice growing loud and drawing looks from around the room.

Kurama sighed, all of the hardness finally falling out of his features. "Target: Lyra Beaumont... escaped. No traces. Casualties: Euna Collins and Hope Beaumont," he read carefully, obviously leaving out details for my benefit.

I didn't need details though, I had been there. I had seen the supernatural fire that consumed them as they huddled to each other in agony. All of their psychic wards, all of their prayers falling away into the burning air. There had been a light that swallowed me up as the flames raced towards me, my body dropped miles away into the heart of the French Quarter, unharmed. I had wanted to die with them, but I was robbed of that.

The cries of my grandmothers echoed off of the walls of the shop, pulsing out of my body as my heart started to race. My hands flew over my ears to drown out the sounds, but they were inside of me, outside of me... everywhere. Everyone bristled at the mortifying symphony pouring out of me, staring at me in confusion as my knees hit the floor. The windows began to rattle from the volume of the screams, and I could do nothing to stop it. Everything was pain and disorder.

Until it all suddenly stopped.

I blinked, feeling arms wrapped around me. Koenma was kneeling with me, holding me in a desperate hug, his fingers curling into my body as if he was afraid I'd disappear. A warm stream of tears streaked my shoulder and I instinctively reached up to pat his hair, completely lost in the emotions of this stranger holding me tight. His mask had finally fallen off and he was nothing but a heartbroken child at that moment.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, "I'm so sorry this happened. If I hadn't been so blind for so long I could have saved your family. I could have saved mother."

At the sound of his haggard voice in my ear, my bones thrummed like a ringing church bell. It felt like gravity had completely reversed, and my vision exploded with a rainbow of light. I was falling without moving, my consciousness slipping away from me until only void remained.

* * *

[A/N] So, now we have our first chapter from Lyra's perspective! Let me know what you guys think! After a brainstorming sesh last night, I have discovered that this fic is going to be so much longer than I anticipated... research has opened the floodgates! What have I gotten myself into? Feel free to hit me up on my Tumblr under DeusVenenare, where I will post news, mood boards, and stupid fangirl things. The title of today's episode is from _Bang Bang_ by Nancy Sinatra. As always, thank you for reading!


	5. My People's Tongues Were Tied

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Five ]

 _My People's Tongues Were Tied_

Wherein Kuwabara learns the truth.

* * *

 **Kuwabara's POV**

An energy filled the room, setting the stale air to life with the smell of ozone and ginger. My skin prickled at the cold chill washing over me, every sense lighting up with alarm bells. My eyes darted to each shadowed corner of the shop but settled on Lyra, who was now hanging limply in Koenma's arms. There was a pulsing hum centered on her, but no one else seemed to notice.

"What happened?" Botan asked, going to Koenma's side.

He gently set the girl down as if she was made of glass, his bloodshot eyes dark with concern. "I don't know..."

The air between Lyra's body and mine began to ripple like a mirage over hot sand, and the room became brighter, though no lights were on. A rainbow of colors stained the corners of my vision, and I slowly moved closer to the girl. There was a magnetism drawing me in that I couldn't explain.

"Kuwabara?" Urameshi's voice sounded far away, even though he was just a few feet behind me.

I knelt at her side, my hand reaching out of its own volition and touching the center of her forehead where the pulses seemed to originate. A shockwave traveled up my arm and resonated in my chest, causing me to release the breath I didn't know I was holding. The waves in the air rippled faster and faster, and I scrambled back as an orb of white light blinked into life before my eyes.

Without hesitation, Urameshi quickly had his spirit gun trained on the sphere, but I held up a hand to stop him. He looked cautiously between me and the orb as a figure began to form out of the light. With a final flash of brilliance, the form was complete, and a familiar face stood before me; a waterfall of black curls framing alabaster skin.

"Kannon?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

She smiled at me and then turned to Koenma, setting her soft silver eyes on him. He stood up quickly, wiping the tears from his cheeks and attempting to compose himself. "My son," she beamed, reaching a hand out to brush his face, but her incorporeal form passed through his physical body. "You have matured so much in such a short time."

"Mother," Koenma breathed, tears threatening his eyes again, but he refused to let them fall.

"Your mind does not remember, but your heart recognizes me yet. I knew you would be a strong one from the moment you were born," she said, an ethereal warmth in her voice.

"I-I have so many questions," Koenma stammered.

Kannon's lips dropped into a thin frown. "We must be quick, having my soul out in the open will attract attention, and this girl's reiki cannot fuel my visage for long," she sighed, guiltily glancing down at Lyra.

"Why did Enma take your life, Kannon?" Botan chimed in when Koenma seemed too nervous to speak.

The goddess glanced at the shinigami, bowing her head politely in acknowledgment. "I often questioned my husband's policies, but none so much as his raising of the barrier between the human and demon planes. When it first went up towards the end of what you know as Japan's feudal era, it seemed to have little effect on Makai, and Ningenkai appeared to benefit. Once humans became the apex predators in their world, they began making more social and technological strides."

"There's always a but..." Urameshi added wryly, all too familiar with the politics surrounding Reikai's decisions.

"Yes, there always is. Humans and demons evolved to coexist, and as seemingly brutal as their relationship could be at times, they rely on each other to maintain a natural balance. The forest is ravaged by fire, the trees fuel the flames, and the ashes create fertility for new growth," she intoned, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her robe. "The imbalance was made catastrophic when Enma began forcing souls to reincarnate into lesser forms; great sages reborn as animals and low-level demons."

I blinked in confusion. "Why would he do that? Why would he reset a soul's path to enlightenment?"

Kannon closed her eyes, a forlorn shadow crossing over her face. She looked as if she wanted to speak, but couldn't.

"To keep them trapped and confused within his control," Koenma grit, cold realization hardening his features. It wasn't a side of Koenma that I had ever seen before, and it gave me a glimpse of his true age behind the mask.

"It took me too long to realize what was really happening," the goddess sighed. "200 years after the barrier was erected, Ningenkai experienced an industrial revolution, which lead to a population boom and the birth of global wars. Humanity was suffering because it was evolving technologically, but not spiritually, and they began taking out that suffering on each other on grander and grander scales. Meanwhile, the demon plane was devolving. Powerful elder demons started dying off without access to their natural energy source, and greater numbers of low level, unintelligent demons were being born."

"To what end, though?" Kurama asked, "What benefit was Enma reaping from this arrangement?"

"Higher populations of mindless souls to consume," Kannon's voice was razor sharp with contempt.

" _Consume_?" I hissed, bile rising in my throat. "Humans and demons have been blinded and enslaved over the last 400 years so Enma can eat our souls?!" My voice grew louder with each word, completely out of my control. This was a deep level of anger, hot and intense, the kind that I rarely allowed myself to feel.

Demons eating humans was a hard enough reality to accept, but bodies and souls were _different_. Death of the body was a natural, if not unpleasant, reality. Death of the soul meant no reincarnation, no path for the evil to repent, no path for the righteous to be rewarded... just... nothingness.

Kannon brought her hands up to cover her heart, centuries of grief in her expression. "Yes, and when I confronted him about it, he cast me out, binding me into a mountain with powerful magic. I couldn't break the seal on my own, but an impressive human psychic unwittingly came to my aid by building her home atop my prison. Through the diligent practice of her spiritual techniques, she unconsciously wore down the seal, finally allowing me to escape in 1976."

"Hold on..." Urameshi said, his mouth dropping open as he seemed to come to a realization.

"Yes, my dear Yusuke," the goddess smiled warmly, "that psychic was Master Genkai."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Genkai's name. It had been a few years since she had passed on peacefully, having lived such a full and spectacular life, but her absence was still something that I felt every single day. I couldn't imagine how hard it had impacted Urameshi, even if he was too far up his own tough-guy ass to ever admit it.

"By the time I returned to Reikai, it was too late," Kannon continued, "Enma's powers had grown even stronger, and he shattered my soul. I was able to preserve the pieces by quickly escaping to Ningenkai, where I attached the remains of my energy to eleven psychics being born at that moment all over the world."

I looked down to Lyra and then back up to my own hands, my flesh and blood seeming foreign to me at that moment. "And we're the only two left alive," I sighed, feeling sorrow drop its heavy weight on my shoulders. What had the others been like? I'd never have the chance to know...

"Sadly, yes," Kannon's voice was small and regretful. "Sweet Kazuma, you were able to fly under the radar by being right under Enma's nose. Your reiki became strong because of your extraordinary circumstances, shielding my own energy from detection. Lyra was harder to hide, however, and her family suffered dearly for it. Thankfully, her grandmothers raised her to be determined and resourceful, and she has learned quickly."

"Does this mean that she and I are the same person? The same soul?" The words bubbled out of me in a fit as I stared at the girl on the floor. It was such a crazy idea, to be so deeply connected to a complete stranger. My thoughts were interrupted by Kannon placing her hand on my head. There was no physical sensation, but it soothed my aura nonetheless.

"No, you are your own person, as is she," her words were smooth and comforting, like I had remembered my own mother's being. "The two of you do not bear my past, nor my sins," with that, she offered a rueful look to her son, as if silently begging his forgiveness.

Koenma opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a loud crash and the blaring of car horns outside. The tendrils of white energy that made up the ward on the room began to flicker like dying candlelight, and in a flash, Kurama, Urameshi and I had our weapons at the ready. I looked past the veil of Koenma's magic and sensed the figures gathering in the street, seven auras sick with hostility and bloodlust.

"They have seen my energy through your spell, my son. Enma's forces are coming," Kannon said hurriedly, her image beginning to dissolve.

Koenma's hand reached out to grab her arm, but it passed through her uselessly. She gave him an apologetic smile as the last traces of her melted back into the shadows. "Find my brothers! Jikoku is..." her voice called out, growing ever distant and choppy, "and Fudo... Makai... help y–"

Her voice died away completely as the glass storefront shattered in on us. An energy blast tore through the room, and I threw myself down over Lyra's body as sizzling electricity passed mere inches above me. When the light faded I pushed myself up, making eye contact with the girl as she stirred awake.

"W-what the hell was that?" she spluttered.

I held out my hand and she clasped onto my forearm for leverage as I helped her stand. "The Special Defense Force. They like to shoot first and ask questions later."

"SO DO I!" Urameshi bellowed, firing his spirit gun blindly out into the street.

Everyone found their feet and quickly filed out of the remains of the shop. Seven figures stood in formation on the blacktop, backlit by the glow of a burning car behind them. They donned gray uniforms, all of them glowing with sickly yellow battle auras. The one in the center began the charge, the rest following suit with teeth bared like rabid dogs.

Urameshi and I took point, my sword humming as it rose up to meet with the first soldier's steel. His sword was in two pieces before he could even blink, and my foot followed up with a solid front kick to his chest that sent him flying.

Long legs had their advantages.

As the second one ran up on me, I caught him with a hard left that sent him tumbling into Urameshi, who happily laid into him with a volley of his own. The third one was a smart bastard though; he feinted high and quickly dropped to sweep my feet out from under me.

Long legs had their disadvantages.

As my backside hit the pavement, my attacker was already on top of me, glowing fists shooting in for an onslaught of punches. As I moved to push him off, a woman flew past us towards Koenma and the girls.

"Shit!" I barked, wrestling the wrists of my opponent back.

Kurama had her wrapped up in his rose whip before she could get far, however. With a hard tug, he pulled her in, a knife that looked like an innocent blade of grass at the ready in his right hand. As soon as she was within reach, the blade had gone clean through her neck, her head harmlessly rolling to a stop at Lyra's feet.

"Fuckin' hell," the guitarist breathed in English, blinking at the kitsune in shock.

My English wasn't great, but I didn't need a dictionary to translate the look on her face.

I decided then to take a play out of Urameshi's book and headbutted the punk on top of me, sending him fumbling backward, right into a well-timed blast from the spirit gun. I was on my feet again in an instant, batting soldiers back and forth with the Mazoku, easily falling into sync with his movements. I had almost forgotten how well we flowed together in battle.

The edges of my awareness recoiled as more auras started to draw near. I pushed myself free of the fray for a moment and spared a quick, knowing glance to Kurama. He nodded in return, keenly aware of why I looked concerned. "There are more coming," he said, turning to Koenma.

"How many?" Botan squeaked.

"Too many to fight off while protecting non-combatants, at least here in the city," he surmised.

My break was cut short when a particularly burly chump came tumbling into me, an unfortunate victim of one of Urameshi's killer right hooks. My spirit sword had run him through before he could let loose the fireball growing in his palm. I was about to jump back into the rest of them, but my rival seemed to be having fun with the final three soldiers. He had one of them in a headlock and was swinging him around like a flail at the other two.

"I will not–" Koenma looked like he was arguing with Kurama about something, but the fox quickly cut him off.

"Now," Kurama ordered.

Botan sighed in defeat and placed a hand on Koenma's shoulder, guiding him away to the SUV. As they left, Koenma stopped to throw a communication mirror to Kurama, who pocketed the small device and quickly turned to Lyra, pulling her closer to defend.

"How many more we got comin'?!" Urameshi shouted over the fleshy thwacks made by his impromptu weapon, unable to hide his shit-eating grin.

I sighed, looking to the horizon as dawn began its first stretch. "A lot."

* * *

 **[A/N]** Now we know who the mysterious woman in Kuwabara's dream was, and why she was so desperate to reach out. I will be VERY LOOSELY basing some of my characters off of Buddhist deities, much how Mr. Togashi did with the character of Enma. So, if you research any of the names I use don't expect the characters to be too much like their mythological counterparts. ;)

Today's episode title is from _Song of the Dispossessed_ by Dead Can Dance. I will have it posted on my Tumblr so you can hear the loveliness.

As always, thank you for reading! And thanks to my reviewers so far, **McMousie** and **Baoh joestar!**


	6. Snake Eyes Watching You

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Six ]

 _Snake Eyes Watching You_

Wherein Yusuke almost starts to enjoy a nature walk.

* * *

The last of the soldiers fell at my feet with a squishy thud, and I gave Kuwabara a joyful thumbs up. He didn't look relieved to be finished with the fight, however. His shoulders were still wound up tighter than a spring and his eyes scanned the area with a hunter's careful precision. He sensed something else just out of my reach, and I knew it couldn't be good.

"More on the way?" I asked, smoothing my hair back to its proper place as the beginnings of dawn stretched over the sky.

He nodded grimly. "Yeah, at least twenty of 'em, and counting."

"They're surrounding us, aren't they?" I didn't really need him to answer, I could tell by how his head pivoted in all directions.

A handful of Special Defense Force lackeys was one thing, but a whole platoon? We wouldn't be able to fend them off without leveling half the city, and the bastards were probably banking on us not wanting to take that risk. Although, if push came to shove...

"We need an escape route," Kurama said as he joined us, a confused and blood-splattered Lyra at his side. She looked a little green as she carefully tiptoed around one of the bodies on the blacktop.

"We're completely boxed in," Kuwabara growled, grip tightening on his sword.

I could sense them now, aggressive electricity crackling all around us. Yellow auras flickered to life as figures lurched out of alleys and dropped down from rooftops, circling us. There had to be at least forty of them now, a sea of smirking douche bags just begging to be punched in the face. I fought the urge to dive right into them, my skin prickling with adrenaline. The only thing stopping me was the growing crowd of rubberneckers dotting the block, early morning traffic was starting to back up around us. Too many human bystanders. We needed a plan, not a massacre.

"How fast can you guys run?" Lyra's voice was quiet, just barely noticeable over the swelling din of car horns and pissed off commuters.

"Pretty damn," I replied, unsure of where she was going with this. Kuwabara was the slowest among us, but even he had the speed to put any Olympic track star to shame.

"Fast enough that thirty seconds will buy us enough time to make a break for it?" She asked, eyes darting nervously between the three of us.

We exchanged looks, Kurama and Kuwabara nodding in the affirmative. Lyra took a deep breath and reached for her back pocket, pulling out an old, banged-up harmonica. I blinked at her in question, but she just gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Get ready to grab me and run like hell," she said simply as she brought the harmonica to her lips.

A mournful wail rang out from the tiny instrument, filling the cool morning air with music. Lyra's reiki pulsed out to cover all four of us and the background noise of the city instantly died away. No car horns, no birds chirping, just the sounds of the harmonica vibrating through my bones. I vaguely recognized the tune, but I couldn't place it; some old fancy song that popped up on TV from time to time. One of the SDF commanders started flapping his mouth like he was yelling something, but the sound didn't reach my ears.

Like dominoes, the soldiers began dropping to their knees with their hands thrown over their ears. Their faces were twisted in pain as they began squirming and writhing like salted slugs. The windows around us shattered soundlessly, raining shards of glass out onto the street, and I took that as my cue. Quickly, I snatched Lyra up and bolted, forcing her song to end with a discordant squawk.

We leapt over the line of agonized soldiers, and I fell into a pace that would push Kuwabara to his limits. The sounds of the city returned as we barreled through the street, horns blaring and curses flying as we sprang over gridlocked cars. We cut into an alley and Kurama fell into step beside me, casting a thoughtful look my way.

"The train?" He asked, mischief tugging a smirk onto his face. Foxy bastard was on to me.

"The train," I replied with a grin.

We poured out of the alley and skid to a stop at the center of a bridge overlooking train tracks below. Any second now...

A distant roar grew louder and Kuwabara shot me a look of disbelief. "No way in hell!"

I gave him a toothy smile and set Lyra down, turning my back to her and kneeling so she could jump on. She was hesitant, but grabbed my shoulders and obliged to becoming a human backpack. She gulped as I stepped closer to the edge of the bridge. "Um... what are–"

Her words turned into shrieks as I jumped off the ledge right as a bullet train shot out beneath us. I landed in a crouch on the train car and slid back as the wind shear caught me. My fingers found a shallow grip and I steadied myself, dropping my head low. I could feel Lyra's face buried into my back, and I'm pretty sure she was still screaming, but all sounds died against the thunder of the air current.

The train snaked its way out of the city, the streets and buildings giving way to a sea of green. I released from my perch and jumped for the tree line, the wind catching me like a sail and jerking my cargo and me violently to the side. My feet hit the ground and we slid a few yards before our momentum slowed, my shoes digging deep troughs through the soil. Kurama landed a few feet away, his hair somehow still perfect, followed by a very frazzled Kuwabara.

"URAMESHI!" Kuwabara's shout startled birds from a nearby tree, his pompadour blown into a formless ginger poof. "Are you freakin' insane?!"

"It worked, didn't it?" I asked, gesturing to the distinct lack of any enemies surrounding us.

He just glowered at me as he furiously tried to smooth out his mane. Lyra groaned and peeled her fingers from the grooves she'd dug into my shoulders. I set her down and held her steady as her legs shuddered, almost feeling bad for my dangerous escape plan. Almost.

"S-so where do we go from here?" She questioned, stumbling over her Japanese as she tried to calm herself.

"The only leads that Kannon left us with were the names of two brothers and a mention of Makai, so it is probably best if we start there," Kurama concluded.

"And what, exactly, is a 'Makai?'" Lyra asked, her mouth turned in a confused pout.

"Makai is the world where demons come from," Kuwabara offered simply, passing her a handkerchief from his jacket pocket as she wiped furiously at her wind-burned face.

Her eyebrows quirked and she lit up like a curious child. "So there's actually a world of just demons out there? Those girls in the news a few years back were the real deal?"

"Very real," Kurama smirked, clearly amused by her excitement.

"I KNEW IT!" Lyra crowed in triumph.

"There should be a pathway near here, but its hard to sniff out. It is normally much more noticeable," Kurama mused as he took to leading us through the thick brush. The plants gently arced away from him as he moved, leaving a clear path for us to follow. Nature walks were only tolerable with the kitsune around.

"You're gonna need to keep your spirit energy up when we get there, Lyra. Makai isn't kind to human bodies," Kuwabara warned.

"Won't that attract attention from those soldiers?" She asked, blinking owlishly at the plants as they bent to Kurama's will.

"I would wager that they won't follow us onto the demon plane. The numbers that they would need to send to handle us would be significant, and it would draw too much attention," the fox said as he moved purposefully through the thick. "Their kind are not particularly welcome there, and they would have to deal with far more opponents than just our meager group."

Lyra snorted and rolled her eyes. "I sure as hell wouldn't call any of you guys meager..."

"Not even that guy?" I laughed, jabbing my thumb towards Kuwabara, earning an amazing _fuck you_ glare.

"Especially not that guy. He is a fan of Megallica, after all," she smiled and winked at him, causing him to puff up to twice normal size.

His ego grew three sizes that day.

Kurama stopped suddenly as we reached a small clearing. At the center, there was a subtle distortion in the air, like waves of a mirage. Normally the points where the worlds overlapped reeked of the guts and glory of the demon plane, but this area smelled like the regular old boring forest. "It seems that the barrier has been raised between worlds once again. That would explain Hiei's recent absence," the fox noted.

"Alright! Leave this to me," Kuwabara announced as he marched into the clearing, pushing his sleeves up. He squared off to the pocket of distortion and held his hands in front of him, squeezing the grip of a sword that wasn't there. His eyes closed and his reiki sparked to life, bright waves pulsing outward in time with his heartbeat. I shivered unconsciously at the massive amount of energy pouring out of him, rival to any opponent I'd faced. If it wasn't for his human vulnerabilities, he'd almost be a candidate for King of Makai.

Not that I'd ever tell him that.

His dimension sword materialized with a fierce crackle, lighting up the shaded forest with gold and green. He lifted the sword and slashed down, causing reality to rip in two. A dark, jagged hole appeared floating oddly above the ground, and Kuwabara rounded on us with a victorious smile. Kurama patted him on the shoulder and leapt into the void first, vanishing completely. Kuwabara followed on his heels, and I ushered a dumbfounded Lyra through next.

We glided through the void between worlds quickly and popped out into one of Makai's vast, steamy wetlands. The smell of conflict singed my nose immediately, and I couldn't stop the relieved sigh from escaping my lungs. This place was a nightmare for normal folks, but for me, it was the only place where I could really stretch out and breathe. I didn't have to temper myself here, I could burn as hot and loud as I wanted to without judgment or collateral. This place was a sandbox for battle gods, and I felt right at home.

Keiko would lecture me, reminding me that home should be a small house in the district where we grew up, with exactly two kids and a fat cat waddling around the kitchen. That's what she dreamed of when she finished school, that's what she talked about for hours when we had dinner. Her dreams were beautiful, _she_ was beautiful, and I didn't know if I would ever be able to take this ugly place out of me to fit in with that...

I shook the thoughts from my head and followed as Kurama led us on through the swamp. I had no idea where the hell we were, but the kitsune seemed pretty certain. My eyes stayed locked on the two humans walking between us. Yomi had won the last tournament to be King, and while he was much less of a hardline tool than he had been when we first met, he still allowed for humans that strayed into the demon plane to be fair game for snacks. We were traveling around with a flashing _'_ eat here _'_ sign.

We traveled mostly in silence for a couple of hours, Kuwabara and Lyra chatting from time to time as he gave her pointers for maintaining a spiritual barrier that would help her breathe easier in the heady atmosphere. She learned quickly enough, her initial ragged breaths calming to a practiced ease. I could see exhaustion pulling at both of them, though, the sleepless night and lack of food slowing them down.

Kurama silently raised his hand and motioned for us to get low. I couldn't sense anything, and by the look on Kuwabara's face, he couldn't either. A low rumble surged through the ground and the small, prehistoric creatures of the swamp began to scatter. The distant snap of trees grew closer as something massive made its way towards us. My blood started to heat in anticipation.

A black blur darted through the canopy and I angled into a fighting stance, eyes trained on every subtle motion of leaves. The lightning fast figure circled us, darting in and out of view, but I could still sense no energy. The brush rustled behind me and I whipped around in an instant, catching between my fingers the razor-edged blade that had been aimed to cleave my skull.

"Hiei," I said silkily, smiling down at the dark demon who'd had every intention of killing me had I not been fast enough. The bastard had gotten good at cloaking his youki with the Jagan.

Red eyes narrowed as he scanned me up and down, but I could see the shadow of a smirk ghost across his face. "Do you not own any shirts?"

"Oh, fuck you..."

* * *

 **[A/N]** Hiei finally makes the scene! And Yusuke might have started a new trend for the more-than-human adrenaline junkies in Ningenkai: bullet train surfing. ;) Thank you again to **Baoh joestar** for reviewing! My writing is still a little rough, but I feel like I'm slowly getting better, so I hope I can give you all a fun story!

Today's episode title comes from _Ace of Spades_ by Motorhead

Drop me a line at deusvenenare -doot- tumblr -doot- com for story updates and Random Fandom (TM).


	7. Back in Black

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Seven ]

 _Back in Black_

Wherein Hiei lets the bird fly.

* * *

My katana returned to its sheath as I examined the small cuts and blood splatter amongst the group, obvious signs of a recent battle. Dark circles ringed the eyes of the humans, and I set my pointed gaze on the tall one. He seemed to understand exactly why my heat had fallen on him, and he straightened his tired shoulders.

"Yukina is safe," Kuwabara said firmly, knowing better than to speak further than that. Silent understandings were the best kind.

The rumblings of the mobile fortress halted behind me, toppling the thick swamp trees with a cacophony of snapped timber. I brought up my hand to signal the massive bio-mechanical centipede, and the legs whirred and popped as it lowered its head to the ground and opened its maw, revealing the entrance.

"Come, I anticipate that you have answers," I said as nodded for them to enter.

The fox and the Mazoku moved on with no qualms, while Kuwabara prodded the utterly terrified female to follow. A twinge caught the edges of my perception, the distinct feeling that I was being watched by an unfamiliar entity. My hand rested on the grip of my sword and my Jagan stirred beneath its bandage, but it revealed nothing in the area. The feeling would not abate, I needed to stay alert.

We made our way down the cavernous hallway formed by the centipede's hardened gullet and stopped at the opening to the strategy room. Mukuro sat at the head of the table with her eye narrowed in annoyance at the incessant bickering of the generals flanking her either side. As we entered, she offered the faintest of smiles to our guests and raised a single finger, effectively silencing the room.

"Have a seat," she said to them, waiving to the occupied chairs to her left.

The handful of generals balked and let out their indignant gasps at being told to give up their seats. One of them, the overseer of the western quadrant, opened his fanged mouth to protest, but Mukuro leveled him with a cold stare that immediately silenced him and had him scrambling to stand. I took my customary place at her right hand, while the other four took the now empty chairs to her left.

"Yusuke, Kurama," Mukuro greeted, nodding to them in turn, "and Kuwabara, correct?"

The human stiffened at the sound of his name, looking shocked that she had even remembered him, but he quickly bowed his head to confirm. He had only been in her presence once, back when he traveled to the demon plane to spectate the last tournament while on break from his studies. Their introduction was brief, but Mukuro's mind, for better or worse, was a steel trap.

"And who are you?" she asked, her gaze falling on the human female.

Yusuke pointed his thumb to the girl and began to speak for her when she looked too scared to open her mouth, "this is–"

"I asked _her_ ," Mukuro interrupted firmly. I couldn't tell what, but she was searching for something in the girl's face.

To my surprise, the female took a deep breath and stood, extending her hand across the table for a handshake. "Lyra Beaumont, pleasure to meet you."

Mukuro smirked, and I recognized the genuine amusement on her lips as she stood to return the greeting. "Mukuro, a pleasure indeed," she replied and took her seat. "Now, I suppose you four have some insight as to why the barrier has been restored? While Yomi's frustration over it is quite pleasing to watch, Reikai has broken its agreement."

Kurama took point and began recounting the events of their night. I listened carefully, as the fox was not one to share details that were unimportant. Of _course_ it was more Reikai drama. They had a bad habit of not being able to handle their own messes, and it was infuriating. I cared little for the plights of the human plane, but Enma's machinations had been imposing upon demonkind as well. It seemed both races had a common enemy in the pompous godking.

Mukuro sat back and brought a finger to her chin, processing the information. "Jikoku and Fudo, was it?"

"Yeah," Yusuke grumbled as he kicked his feet up on the table, "don't s'ppose you know them?"

Shaking her head, Mukuro flipped a switch on the arm of her chair, turning on the projector beneath the transparent table top. A holographic map of the surrounding swamp flickered to life, prompting the Mazoku to sheepishly remove his muddy shoes from their perch. With a wave of her hand, Mukuro re-positioned the map to show the topography of Yomi's territory of Gandara. "I know of no beings with those names," she said as the map zoomed in to display a large volcano, "but many centuries ago, this mountain was once referred to as _Fudo's Mouth_."

"At least it isn't Fudo's Asscrack," Yusuke quipped, unable to contain his mouth. As usual.

Kuwabara leaned in to get a closer look at the display, his eyes set hard in thought. "I guess this is our best lead. How do we get there?"

"My fortress will be able to transport you up to the border with Yomi's land. If I go further, he will see it as an act of war, and I doubt that we have time to spare on negotiations," Mukuro stated as she rose from her seat, prompting everyone else to stand. "It will take about a day and a half to reach the boundary. In the meantime, however, I will have my staff arrange for your accommodations."

"Your assistance is appreciated, Mukuro," Kurama said with a polite bow.

"It's my pleasure to meddle in Enma's affairs," she replied mirthfully. "Hiei, if you would lead them."

I nodded to her and began ushering the group back out to the hallway, stopping when Lyra turned to face Mukuro. The girl took a few tentative steps back into the room and addressed the demon lord, "so, I have to ask... why did you insist that I introduce myself?"

Mukuro tilted her head with a stern look. "I was deciding whether or not to eat you. If you hadn't the strength to speak your own name, I would have. Fear has no value," she replied simply before exiting through a door to her private room.

"Move," I prodded as the human fell into a stunned silence. I led them to the dining hall, where the staff was already busy setting out platters of food. Yusuke sat down with the humans, carefully explaining which foods would kill them and which were safe, and Kurama stood beside me as I sat on the stairs to distance myself from the obnoxious sounds of the trio eating.

"Something is troubling you," Kurama sighed, leaning on the wall to stare at me in that annoying way he always did when he wanted me to _talk_.

"Nothing of importance."

"You know that doesn't work on me, Hiei," he intoned. Damned nosy fox.

My thumb tapped idly on the pommel of my katana as the weight of unseen eyes still peered at me. My Jagan continued to show that nothing was amiss, but my gut was not in the habit of lying to me, and I knew better than to ignore it. "Something is watching."

"I sensed it, too. It has been following us since we entered Makai, but there is no aura, no scent," Kurama mused, rolling a small seed between his fingers, making it look as if he was cleaning his nails.

"Hn," I huffed impatiently. Something was playing games with us, prompting a fire to rise in my chest.

Lyra began coughing uncontrollably at the table, and I wondered for a moment if she had begun choking on her food –imagine my surprise when I had found out that it was _actually_ possible for humans to die this way– but Kuwabara soon followed with a fit of his own. They crumpled to the floor, gasping for air but unable to fill their lungs. Yusuke knelt and rolled Kuwabara onto his side, panic and confusion darkening his eyes, while the fox rushed to the girl.

"Hiei," Kurama called as he lifted Lyra's head to his lap. I was next to him in a blink, and he turned her heaving body just enough for me to see a small, bloody 'X' cut into the back of her neck.

"What the fuck," Yusuke growled as he pulled a bloodied hand from behind Kuwabara's head.

I removed the bandage over my Jagan and scanned the room, but there was still no presence there but ours. With a flick of my thumb, my blade sprang from its sheath and I held it at the ready. I looked down at Kuwabara, his face taking on a blue tinge as he fought to breathe, and flames sparked from my hand, shrouding my katana in deadly heat. "Show yourself!" I snarled.

A satisfied laugh echoed through the room, seemingly coming from all directions. My instincts told me to block, so I lifted my sword up and heard the audible _ting_ of metal striking metal, but there was no other blade in sight. I jumped back to reposition myself, and I felt a warm trickle of blood drip down my cheek. I ran my fingers over the fine scratches on my face and narrowed my eyes, anger bubbling up within me like lava.

Yusuke shouted as an unseen force threw him back into the table, three slashes resembling claw marks carved into his chest. Thinking quickly, he ran his hand over the wound and flung it outward, spattering the invisible opponent with crimson. My eyes locked on the floating bloodstain as the figure darted away from the Mazoku and charged Kurama.

Got you.

Demonic flame surged from my sword as I swung, the blade catching against flesh with a familiar resistance. The fire spread, consuming whatever had been cloaking the assassin and revealing a sinewy creature that was both man and bird. Hands tipped with talons shot up as he covered his midsection, a green sword falling from his grip with a clatter. Solid black eyes locked onto mine and he opened his beak as if to say something, but only a gurgle escaped as blood rose from his esophagus and drowned his tongue. The top half of him separated from the bottom completely, and the pieces plopped lifelessly to the floor, perfectly cauterized.

I reached down and grabbed the mossy-colored blade, examining it. The edges were slicked with a clear liquid, obviously some form of poison. There was a jeweled embellishment on the pommel that looked out of place, and I pressed on it, opening a compartment in the hilt. Inside was a small vial, and I quickly tossed it to Kurama. He smelled the contents and immediately poured a few drops into the mouths of the now unconscious humans.

A few quiet moments passed with no effect, Yusuke impatiently slapping at Kuwabara's face to rouse him, but he soon followed Kurama's lead and began chest compressions. A few more uneasy seconds passed before a desperate sucking of air filled the room, both of the humans gasping their way back into consciousness. Lyra clawed at Kurama's arm in panic before she realized who was holding her down, while Kuwabara –more accustomed to returning from the brink of death– calmly sat up as his breath returned to normal.

"What... the hell... was that?" he sputtered.

My boot tapped the heap of demon on the floor and I sneered. "Tengu," I said. "An ugly one."

Yusuke marched over to the corpse and pulled up a shred of the burnt cowl that had covered the beast. The dark fabric had a strange, swirling pattern in the weave and Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "This looks a lot like the cloaking spell that Koenma used."

"Yes, it's definitely Spirit World magic," Kurama added. "It seems that Enma has taken to employing demons."

"Yeah, makes perfect sense! _'Oh, you've been screwing over my species for centuries? Here, let me help you!'_ " Yusuke mocked, throwing the fabric across the room in frustration.

The shroud sailed to the doorway and landed square on Mukuro's head, who raised a quizzical eyebrow as she surveyed the chaos we'd left in her dining hall. She neatly folded the fabric and tucked it in her belt before she spoke. "We haven't even served drinks yet."

I was going to hear about this later.

* * *

 **[A/N]** Hello loves! Thank you for reading, once again! I've been having some complications from my neurological disorder of late, which makes it very difficult to write. Chronic nerve pain and seizures give me massive brain fog (thank goodness for spell check!), so I wasn't sure if I'd get this one out in time, but I made it! Hiei is such an odd-duck to write, too. He's a ball of loyalty under a crunchy IDGAF shell. XD

The continued support of **Baoh joestar** has been greatly appreciated! Your reviews truly light up my day!

I have two side stories for the next episode planned, so I will probably start a separate story for AoP shorts. They won't be _required_ for understanding the story, but they will add character development and other fun stuff that doesn't fit within the perspective of the character being focused on for that chapter. ;)


	8. Standin' at the Crossroad

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Eight ]

 _Standin' at the Crossroad_

Wherein Kuwabara is aware that there is no beer tree in Makai.

* * *

The scale of things in Makai was just mind boggling. The trees were lichen-covered sky scrapers, and the average plateau would give Everest a run for its money. From my vantage point on top of the centipede fortress, we still didn't quite clear the tree line, and this thing was a city on legs. The fossilized remains of this beast had been animated with machinery that moved and flowed with a biological grace, putting Ningenkai technology to shame. I had seen some of the marvels of the demon plane on my last trip to watch the tournament –and my brief foray in the battle with Sensui– but this up-close tour through the primal lands had been humbling.

I sat with my legs crossed, Lyra keeping me company. I had found her up here about half an hour ago, playing slow, twangy tunes on her harmonica that seemed to blend in with natural sounds of the forest. The instrument wasn't one that I had heard often, but the soothing emotion that she could coax out of it was starting to grow on me. We had both slept like the dead after our ordeal, losing more than a day, and while my body was well rested, my mind was still exhausted. Her music came as a welcome distraction.

"I still haven't heard anything else from Kannon. She used to haunt my dreams every night for years, and now... total silence," Lyra finally spoke, tucking the instrument back into the safety of her pocket.

"Same here," I sighed, "Maybe she used up too much energy appearing to us like that?"

She shrugged, smoothing back her short black hair. She wore her confident stage facade on the outside, but there was an underlying anxiety that reminded me of my college mates just before finals. "I guess. I just don't like it... feels like I'm being moved around on a chessboard."

"Welcome to Spirit World politics," I laughed wryly.

She grumbled to herself in her native tongue and laid back to look at the sky, the venom in her tone needing no translation. I just smiled at her and returned my attention to the scenery. She was right, something was off about this whole mess. It didn't seem right that I'd had some goddess attached to my soul my whole life and never noticed. Of all of the spirits that haunted me throughout my years, why was the closest one so quiet until now? Why not at least speak up when Koenma made his first move to overthrow his father?

My body lurched forward slightly as the fortress slowed its crawl, and I reached back to pat Lyra on the shoe. "I think we're coming up on our stop," I said as I rose to my feet and offered her a hand. She grabbed it and we made our way back through the hatch on the roof. Everyone's energy signatures were gathered in the strategy room, so I followed my senses through the winding hallways and found them all standing around the map table. Maybe someday I'd have the chance to ask Mukuro how the technology worked. It would revolutionize computer displays if I could reverse engineer it.

"Hope you changed into your hiking panties, 'cause we're hoofin' it from here," Urameshi greeted with his typical jerk smile.

I picked absently at the loose, cuffed pants and keikogi top that Mukuro had provided to all of us to replace our tattered and bloodstained garb. She'd said something about it being made of a fire rat or whatever. All I knew was it was itchy.

"Isn't Yomi going to be alerted as soon as we wander into his country? Can't he hear everything on his turf?" I asked the question that had been nagging me since I'd learned the location of the volcano.

Mukuro smiled at me, a hint of youthful mischief in her blue eye that seemed out of place on such an ancient powerhouse. "I had a chat with Ms. Beaumont earlier, and we have crafted a solution," she said.

Judging by the looks from everyone else in the room, I wasn't the only one that was surprised. Even Hiei's expression changed at the thought of Mukuro colluding with a human. She flipped the switch to turn on the hologram table, and an image of a cage blinked into view. Inside was a flock of small, bat-like creatures flitting around in a frenzy. "These mimics have been trained to imitate songs from Lyra's harmonica. Five thousand of them in total will swarm Gandara, providing a white noise that will help cover your tracks. Sound is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness, after all," the Demon King mused.

Kurama's shoulders began to shake as he chuckled, while Urameshi let out a bark of laughter and slapped his arm over Lyra's shoulder. "Shit, if I could learn that trick, I'd be a shoe-in for King at the next Makai Tournament," he grinned.

"Wait, you compete to be the King of this place?" Lyra asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, we all do... well, except for Kuwabara, he's pretty set on being a computer nerd for some reason," Urameshi explained, sounding bored.

"Tech is the future, Urameshi," I grumbled in irritation. He understood as much about computers as I did about cooking, which was diddly squat.

"Can you finish this banal chatter later?" Hiei grunted in annoyance. I noticed that he was wearing his black overcoat and looked ready to travel.

"You're coming with us, Hiei?" My question came out much squeakier than I'd hoped.

Mukuro took her seat at the table, crossing her legs with a stern look. "Yes, I've granted him leave as my General, as this issue poses a threat to all of the realms. I have confidence that he will help ensure that the threat is neutralized."

"Hn," Hiei huffed in confirmation and marched out the door.

We all thanked Mukuro for her hospitality and followed after the fire demon. The sunlight stung my eyes as we exited the centipede fortress, and when the muggy air overtook me again, I was silently thankful for the breezy –but still itchy– clothes that we had been provided. Kurama set the pace for us, kicking off into a fast, but steady, march. This distance was going to be a test of physical endurance for me, and I vaguely wondered how long the untrained Lyra would be able to keep up.

Within minutes, we crossed the border into Gandara. I heard a thundering swoosh behind me and instinctively ducked as the swarm of mimics was released, filling the air with wing beats and an absurd symphony of reedy music. I couldn't help but laugh at how utterly ridiculous it sounded to hear five thousand harmonicas flying through the sky as they branched out in all different directions and faded into the canopy.

Uramshi looked back at Lyra, giggling just as stupidly as I was. "How'd you and Mukuro come up with that, anyway?"

She smiled roguishly at him and shrugged. "She heard me playing in my room and asked me to come with her. She already had them caged up and ready to go... I think she's been waiting to screw with Yomi for awhile."

I swear, I think I almost heard Hiei laugh.

We walked on for hours, all of us –minus Hiei– chatting idly and sharing stories of our various conquests with Lyra. In return, I got regaled with backstage stories about Megallica's whiskey-fueled antics. All of it served well to distract me from the dull pain in my feet as the terrain slowly gave way into a rockier landscape. What I wouldn't give for a horse... ATV... _something_. It had been far too long since I had trained in earnest if less than a day's hike was already wearing on me.

The sun was beginning to set and it felt like we had made little progress. Kurama stopped us at a small river and looked around with discerning eyes before taking a seat on a boulder by the water.

"What are you doing?" Hiei snapped.

Kurama gave him a passive smile and gestured to the surroundings. "This is the perfect place to stop for the night. We have water and edible berries," he said as if it were obvious.

Hiei's jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth. "Stop? We've been moving painfully slow all day, and now you want to stop?" His voice was calm but laced with poison.

"Kuwabara and Lyra need rest," the fox said plainly. I felt a little self-conscious just then, but he wasn't wrong. I could push myself into the next day if need be, despite the protests of my feet, but Lyra looked like she was about to drop.

The fire demon clicked his tongue in annoyance. "We're never going to make it there at a human pace," he growled, "I'll be back by morning."

With that, he was gone, vanished into the canopy with one swift leap. Grumpy ass.

Kurama merely sighed and reached down to the river, cupping his hands for a drink. I followed suit, kneeling and dunking my entire head in for good measure, the cool rapids draining the uncomfortable heat from my face. I felt a foot plant squarely on my backside, pushing me headlong into the water. I floundered for a moment before I figured out which way was up and surfaced, ready to lay into somebody. I was immediately silenced by the approaching shadow of Urameshi cannonballing directly for me.

"Banzai, asshole!" He screeched in midair. I was barely able to make it out of the way before he crashed into the water. As soon as his head popped up, I wrestled him under again, and we broke out into a full-blown water battle. The bastard cheated, of course, and forced me to tap out after an underwater choke hold caused me to inhale more water than should've been humanly possible.

I crawled up the bank, sputtering and trying to suck in life-giving air, while Urameshi swam triumphant laps behind me like the cocky dick that he was. Kurama offered me a sympathetic hand and helped me climb up onto the boulder. "This isn't over, punk!" I bellowed, my curly hair sticking like a wet mop to my face.

Urameshi put his hand over his head, mimicking a shark's fin, and zipped around in the river with an imitation of the JAWS theme. His gloating was cut short with an unbecoming shriek as he skittered out of the water like a frightened crab, a soggy bit of moss stuck between his toes. He scowled at the offending greenery, heat rising in his face and tinging his ears pink in embarrassment.

Lyra and I started howling like hyenas, while Kurama bit his thumb. Hard. "My, Yusuke, you barely... escaped with your life..." the fox breathed, succumbing to his suppressed laughter.

"Shut up!" Urameshi barked, shooting us all a death glare. He jumped to his feet, scraping off the squishy green monster. "I'm gonna go look for firewood or something," he grumbled and marched off into the trees.

Kurama popped up from his seat and tossed a small berry from the neighboring bush into my hand. "Grab some more, they're quite delicious," he said as he quickly caught up with Urameshi and steered him away from a scraggly plant that I could only assume was some kind of demonic poison ivy.

I tossed back the red berry, a sweet, juicy thing that tasted oddly like a cherry and a fig combined. I peeled off my wet keikogi top, laying it on a branch to dry, and set to gathering handfuls of the fruits. Lyra followed my lead with a smile, picking off a few of the fruits for herself. We continued on silently for quite a while, and I absently wondered what was taking my two missing comrades so long.

My eyes lingered on her tattooed forearm, peering out through rolled-up sleeves. It preened its way through the bush, an inky black snake over a bed of yellow flowers, and I couldn't contain my curiosity. "What does that tattoo represent?" I asked.

She set her berries in a depression on the boulder and traced a finger over the scaled creature. "The Serpent represents truth, as the truth is feared and hated by many," she then moved to trace over one of the flowers, "and the poison henbane represents the trials you have to go through to find it. My grandmothers taught me that ignorance was a form of bondage, and that strong women should always stand against it."

I regretted asking when I saw the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, but her small smile wasn't sorrowful, it was a picture of fond remembrance. It was then that I realized why she had been so willing to follow the voice in her dream to find me, and to tag along into a strange world with a bunch of weird guys she'd just met. Truth was her god, and she served with absolute conviction.

"Now it's your turn," she said, punching lightly at my shoulder.

I blinked at her, confused. "My turn for what?"

"You know, I share something personal, and then you share something personal. It's how humans bond and junk," she replied, grinning broadly. "I'm usually a few drinks in for this kinda thing, but I don't see a beer tree around here."

A nervous laugh escaped me, half dreading what she meant by 'personal.' "Um... what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about that girl, the pretty one with the otherworldly hair that you sat next to like a protection detail," she crooned slyly.

My heart swelled and my cheeks flushed, despite myself. "That was Yukina... she's my fiance, and the most beautiful, gentle soul I've ever met. We're going to get married this coming winter."

Lyra squealed and grabbed my arm, bouncing with excitement. My blush deepened and I silently cursed my stupid, stupid face. "I'm so happy for you," she beamed and threw me into a hug. I had no idea what to do with myself, so I just stood there, gaping like a fish. She seemed like such an affectionate person now that she was more comfortable in the group, and I never would have imagined it coming from someone who had a leather-and-spikes stage persona.

We were both startled away from each other by a loud crash as Urameshi marched back into our campsite and threw down way more firewood than we'd need for the night. His knuckles were bruised, and judging by the irregular scraps of tree, it looked like he had punched the thing to pieces. Kurama's face was shadowed in a serious expression, but he quickly put on a smile when he saw me. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but the fox stopped me with a simple shake of his head.

I'd have to bug him about it later.

We mulled about, making cozy spots for ourselves as the last of the sun's light faded away. The warmth of the fire by my side and the alien songs of the Makai insects lulled me to the edge of sleep quickly. As much of a spectacle as Makai was, there was no moon, and it made the darkness beyond the reach of our camp so much more foreboding. A pit settled in my stomach as my consciousness drifted away, a swirling knot of dread that promised a trial by fire come sun up.

* * *

 **[A/N]** WHEW! I had a crazy busy weekend, and I apologize for the lateness of this chapter! My schedule for updates will be changing to every Monday instead od Saturdays due to a shift in work, so I'm sorry for any inconvenience that might cause, but you _will_ still get weekly updates. Today's episode title comes from _Crossroads_ by the legend, Robert Johnson.

This chapter was more of a relaxed one, but I have two omake pieces coming that take place within parts of episodes 7 and 8. They aren't very long, but they are character builders and will have some plot introspection. While not imperative, I highly recommend reading them! They will be posted under the title **Little Pieces**. I hope you enjoy them!

HUGE thanks to **NightJasmine10** for reviewing, and for the continued support from **Baoh joestar**! I really can't thank y'all enough for your kind words. It makes writing all the more rewarding.


	9. I Went Down, Down, Down

**[A/N]:** Okay guys, I have received a few reviews and even more private messages from helpful souls that have offered me some great advice. The consensus has been that the story is good, but it can be hard to follow due to the changes in perspective. While I am most comfortable writing in the first person (it is how I learned to write), I agree that it might not be the best perspective for my style of story.

Because of my desire to grow as a writer, and provide you all with a fun, engaging story, I will be switching to third person from here on out. You cannot make progress if you don't practice, right? So I will be forcing myself out of my comfort zone. I hope that all of you that have enjoyed the story so far will be alright with the changes, and I plan to go back over time and edit the previous chapters to be cohesive. This process will take a little time, as I still want to provide fresh chapters for you all every week, so please bear with me! I know it is a bit "unprofessional" to switch things up like this on a story, but that's the thing... I'm not a professional, and I certainly don't know it all. I'm here to learn and get better, for myself and for you all!

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Nine ]

 _I Went Down, Down, Down_

Wherein Hiei insults a god.

* * *

A furious wind whipped around Hiei as his mount made its descent, four silver wings stretching wide from the body of the wyrm as it began to glide downward at his telepathic command. A chorus of shrieks sang out behind him as the other four metallic beasts under his thrall followed. The twists and turns of the river were their guide as they flew low, skimming the crystalline surface that was painted orange with the first morning light. The faint scent of a dying fire signaled to Hiei that he was drawing near to the camp.

When the tendrils of smoke from came into view, he sat down his cavalry along the river bank. He was greeted by a group of disbelieving faces as everyone rousted from their sleep with a start, even the fox appearing surprised by the well-fanged flying serpents gathered before him. They chittered away and nipped at each other, as wyrms were prone to do.

"We will make it to the mountain in less than a day on these. Move out," Hiei commanded.

"Damn Hiei, you went all out," Yusuke gaped, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The fire demon's lips pulled into a smirk at the former detective. "Anything to get you snails to move faster."

"Color this snail impressed," Kuwabara smiled appreciatively as he carefully approached the herd. He reached up to pet one, but thought better of it upon seeing their rows of needle-sharp teeth. He'd prefer to keep his arm today.

"It's a goddamn herd of dragons... and somehow it's still not the weirdest thing I've seen in the last few days," Lyra laughed, a hint of insanity lining her expression that she was, very quickly, giving in to.

"Okay," Yusuke grunted as he hopped up on one of the wyrms with a wide grin. "Giddy-up, let's go!"

Hiei had no idea what Yusuke meant by 'giddy-up,' but decided to grant his wish anyway, bidding Yusuke's beast to shoot upwards at top speed with an effortless command of his Jagan. The Mazoku fell forward and clung to the wyrm for dear life, his curses flying faster than the serpent. Kurama gave Hiei a stern look, so he tempered the speed for the boy. Slightly.

Everyone mounted up, and they made their way skyward. Hiei intentionally set the pace so that the wind shear would drown out any attempts at idle conversation, and guided everyone in the direction of the volcano. After only two hours of travel through the misty morning skies, a plume of black smoke overtook the horizon, the shadow of their mountain destination stretching up to ominous heights in the distance.

Hiei's blood stirred. Most demons avoided these badlands surrounding the volcano, a massive desert of black volcanic rock that harbored no life. Many considered that there was nothing to gain from this place, no treasure, no game, only heat and scattered bones. Something was here that excited the very depths of the flame within the Jaganshi, however; an ancient religion that had been forgotten centuries before his time.

As they drew closer, the skies blacked out completely from the continuous stream of ash rising from the colossus. The only light spared from the darkness was the smoldering purple glow pulsing from the caldera. It was the only volcano of Makai that any of them had seen burn with this odd color. It was not molten rock that bubbled in this mountain, but molten spirit.

A cave was gouged into the mountain side, looking like a grinning mouth strewn with stalactite teeth; no doubt the inspiration for the location's name. The ledge leading into the cave was broad enough to land the wyrms upon, so they sat down in the sulfurous hellscape. The air was hot and stale, the wind completely silent in this desolate place. Hiei watched as the human's faces twisted in discomfort at the atmosphere, the female taking particularly ragged breaths.

"You stay out here," Hiei gruffly ordered the woman.

"No way," she breathed, sparing the fire demon a glare. She straightened herself and increased the flow of energy to her protective aura, tapping into the farthest corners of her reiki. "I'm going to run out of energy just standing here, anyway. I'd rather help!"

She was right, the boys were keenly aware that she'd burn out quickly at that rate, her reserves just barely skimming the upper edge of E-class. They all began to wonder if she wouldn't have been safer staying with Mukuro, even with the Demon Lord's questionable dinner choices.

"I will not carry you out if you collapse," Hiei said simply and spun on his heels to start inside.

"I won't carry you, either," Lyra huffed and took up pace behind him.

Kurama fell into step beside Hiei, the pitch black of the cavern lighting up with a faint glow from the lamp weeds that he scattered to mark their path. The jagged entrance had belied the smooth, arching walls within, decorated with delicate swirling patterns that were etched with laser precision. As they passed the first few yards, small depressions in the floor by the walls appeared, filled with a thick, clear liquid. Kurama paused and reached down into one of he channels, feeling the viscous fluid between his fingers and taking a cautious sniff.

"It's a river of oil," the fox surmised.

Hiei sparked a mortal flame on the tip of his finger, touching it down to the oil and lighting a trail of fire that spread quickly down the pathway. The cave filled with soft orange light, revealing the long tunnel ahead of them. Within moments, the flame traveled back up the other side, completely illuminating the intricate carvings on the black stone walls.

"This is quite an ingenious lighting system," Kurama hummed appreciatively.

"This place looks like a temple," Yusuke said as he ran his fingers over the walls.

"It is," both of the humans said in unison.

Yusuke looked to them curiously, both of them standing board-straight, their eyes glazed over like they were caught in a trance. The demons stood cautiously still as Kuwabara and Lyra walked forward mechanically, as if led by a voice that only they could hear. Hiei drew his katana and followed a few steps behind. As they came to a crossroads, the humans marched on to the left with no hesitation, showing a sudden familiarity with the sprawling complex.

"Uh, are you okay Kuwabara?" Yusuke prodded, but there was no response. The humans no longer seemed to register that anyone else was there.

The cave widened as the group continued on, and after several turns, they came to a large, arched metal door. Kuwabara reached up and turned the circular pieces of the lock in the center, skillfully spinning all of the cogs into place as if he had done it a thousand times before. A loud _click_ boomed out, and the door swung inward, revealing the inner sanctum. A molten purple pit of filled the room, with an elevated bridge crossing over the center, leading to an altar. Upon the dais was a gargantuan stone statue of a man, clad in spiked armor, with a mane of carved fire for hair.

The humans approached the statue, seemingly unperturbed by the scorching heat that should have crippled them. They stopped at the feet of the effigy and laced their fingers together, their auras glowing and twining into each other, a mix of gold and red reiki. The room rumbled, small pebbles breaking loose from the ceiling and clattering down like tiny hail stones.

"How dare you bring defilement to my temple!" A deep, booming voice growled out and the statue began to glow, as if the stone was suddenly becoming lava. A scalding wind threw the three demons back into the wall by the entrance, leaving only the humans standing at the altar. Purple fire licked out from the floor beneath them, cloaking their bodies with hungry flame. They collapsed in agonized screams.

"No!" Kurama roared as he struggled to peel himself away from the wall, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The wind continued, however, pressing the demons back with enough force to crack the stone behind their bodies. The pressure on their chests immense, nearly squeezing the air from their lungs.

The humans continued to wail and writhe as the fire tore at their skin. They had the sense to pull their keikogi tops over their heads, the fur of the fire rat temporarily protecting their faces, but the exposed skin of their hands and ankles began to bubble from the heat. Their clothing would not spare them much longer; they would be consumed alive. Hiei's blood began to boil he I watched them howling in pain.

A sudden burst of white light appeared in front of them, temporarily blinding the entire room. The figure of a woman came in to view as the light faded, long black hair whipping violently about her in the gale. Her voice rang out, cracked and desperate, "brother, stop!"

"Your treachery knows no bounds, Kannon!" The disembodied voice thundered. Before the woman, a violet light flashed, revealing a flesh-and-blood embodiment of the man from the statue. Unlike the statue, his armor was cracked and tarnished, and his face bore a deep scar, giving the appearance that his mouth had once been slit open from ear to ear.

"Please Fudo," the woman pleaded, dropping to her knees before the man, "these humans are merely vessels, they harbor my ghost but have individual souls of their own, free of my sin! You would not take the lives of the innocent!"

Fudo sneered, raising his fist and halting the inferno. Kuwabara and Lyra did not move to stand, their bodies still wracked with painful convulsions from their burns. Kannon stood and grabbed for Fudo's hand to calm him, but he quickly jerked it away, peering down at her with cold, black eyes.

"Do not be so familiar, bitch," he hissed as he unsheathed his katana, pointing it squarely at her neck. The blade glowed silver on its own accord, as if it was made from a piece of the human plane's moon, a glow that did not exist in Makai. Hiei followed the motion of the blade closely, a glint of hunger in his eyes.

"I am sorry, brother. I did not know the treachery of my husband when he called for you to be cast out. I was a new mother, I only cared for the safety of my son... please," Kannon begged.

Fudo was unmoved by her pleas, his face remaining as hard as the stone effigy behind him. He leaned into her with a malicious grin, his free hand tracing over his scar. "You might as well have done this with your own hand, sister. And now you traipse into my fallen kingdom like an innocent fawn! I tried to warn you, I lead the war against him to save you and the Three Worlds from being consumed by his greed!"

"I was blind," the goddess sobbed, "please... I am too weak to help them now. Aid these warriors in their fight against him! Take up the cause for which you once had so much passion!"

"What do you expect me to do? You have allowed this blasphemy for too long, Kannon. A war with Enma now would tip the scales and send everything into chaos. Nothing will ever be the same," Fudo sighed disgustedly, clenching his blade tighter.

"I believe in them," Kannon announced, gesturing to the indisposed fighters behind her, her silver eyes flashing proudly. Her small, empathetic smile rested on each one of them in turn.

"Then you have forgotten how fate works. Many will die," Fudo hissed.

Kuwabara's body stirred, his arms bracing under him as he struggled to lift his eyes to Fudo. "Death is better than bondage," his ragged voice barked, throat still raw from the heat. Lyra's burnt hand was draped over his, clasping on to comfort him as he trembled. Her body was too weak to lift itself completely, but energy poured out of her into Kuwabara in waves, causing his aura to flare with a strength that sent shock waves through the room. The walls of the cavern shivered as his reiki was magnified, and he stood on shaky legs to look the god eye to eye.

"Enma has grown too strong, you know not what you are asking!" Fudo's voice roared out, meeting Kuwabara's energy with defiance.

With great effort, Hiei pulled his head away from the wall and leveled his gaze at the fiery god. "Those are the words of a coward," he spat, having enough of the dramatics playing out before him.

At once, the pressure pinning the demons to the wall died and flames took their place, enveloping the entire cavern in their anger. Kannon's image died away in the fire, leaving the rest to collapse as the heat sucked the air from their lungs.

"The very fires of Makai were born of my blood! I was forging worlds before even demonkind rose up from the waters," Fudo bellowed as the flames intensified with his wrath.

Hiei willed his body to stand against the onslaught and marched towards the god, his resistance to fire his only saving grace against the searing pain lashing at his skin. "And yet, here you are, hiding from Enma!" he barked.

"I hide from nothing! My foolish sister and that foul wretch of hers bound me here. Could my soul leave this place, my sword would have pierced his black heart centuries ago," Fudo grumbled.

His anger seemed to temper for a moment, the fires dimming as regret slowly overtook the god's face. His distraction was Hiei's cue, and he closed the gap between them in a flash. Their blades met with a violent spark, the consuming fire in the chamber dying off completely as Fudo's attention turned solely to to Hiei. The god's mouth curled into a smirk and he planted a kick in the demon's stomach to push him back.

Metallic _pings_ rang out from Hiei's blade, cracks growing like spider webs from the point where the katanas had collided. With a final agonized snap, his blade shattered completely and fell to the floor. For once, he was rendered silent not by choice, but by astonishment. That had been no ordinary Makai alloy like the blade that had snapped against Kuro Momotaro's animal armor. Hiei's most recent acquisition had been from Shigure's private collection, a blade that had held up in battle against the likes of Mukuro.

"Who do you think taught demons how to forge, boy?" Fudo challenged, his face twisted in amusement at Hiei's disappointment. His katana pulsed with energy, the god's very life force boiling within the blade.

Hiei's resolve hardened, his initial anger giving way to the quench of cold acceptance. He knew exactly what he had to do. "If you cannot leave this place, then give me your sword and I will remove Enma's head with it myself."

The god's brow furrowed, caught off guard by the demon's lack of a heated comeback. He had been expecting another attack, or at very least, a good sarcastic remark. He ran his hand along the spine of the silver blade and he arched his tall frame over to look Hiei square in the eyes, his fiery hair dancing like a ball of hungry snakes. In the front of the room, Yusuke immediately lifted his spirit gun, but Hiei held out a hand to stop him.

"As much as I admire your spark, boy, you do not have the energy to compensate for holding my soul in your hands. The flames would consume you before you could equalize with its power," Fudo warned and gestured to the dragon burned into Hiei's arm, "even with your mastery of the dark beast."

"Then it's a good thing we brought an amplifier," Kuwabara said firmly. He bent over to help Lyra stand, careful not to touch her scorched hands. They stood resolute, despite their injuries, their heads held high in defiance of the god.

A deep belly laugh erupted from Fudo and he looked to Hiei with a wolfish grin. "Fine then. Far be it from me to deny you the death you crave, fireling," he mused and slapped a hand down on his shoulder. Before Hiei could react, the god shoved his katana into the Jaganshi's hand.

The cavern erupted into pained screams, a foreign sound coming from the normally stoic fire demon. His world fell away into nothing but agony as his bones flared with an intense heat that threatened to melt him from the inside.

* * *

 **[A/N]:** Thank you for reading! Today's episode title comes from _Ring of Fire_ by Johnny Cash.


	10. Breathing in Uncertainty

**.**

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Ten ]

 _Breathing in Uncertainty_

Wherein desperate times call for desperate measures.

* * *

As Hiei let out with a blood-curdling wail, Lyra reached out to catch him as he fell back. The already burnt skin of her hands sizzled on contact with his shoulder blades, but she refused to budge. Her legs wobbled from the effort as the massive flow of his energy collided with her body, but Yusuke moved quickly to brace her, his hands grabbing onto her forearms for support.

The fire demon lit up like a blast furnace, his body ridged in agony as molten heat surged through him. Lyra winced as smoke rose up from her skin, every instinct screaming at her to pull away and protect herself. The Mazoku's support was the only thing keeping her focused, but she still had little clue what to focus on.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking from the pain as her own aura flared defensively.

Kuwabara paled beside them, his expression of certainty fading to alarm. "You magnified my energy earlier. Just do that again!"

"I did what?!" she squeaked, falling back completely into Yusuke's support as her legs gave out. "I thought that was you!"

"No, Lyra, it was you. I felt my reiki leave my body when you touched my hand, and when it came back, it was stronger," Kuwabara said, trying to hide his panic with an even tone. "You amplified it just like you do with your harmonica."

"I didn't even know I was doing it, it just happened," she bit through her clenched jaw as Hiei's energy pulsed at her with a breath-sucking heat.

Fudo plopped down on the altar, examining his fingernails with rapt attention. "You had better figure it out quickly before his organs melt, woman. There is no going back now," he sighed with indifference.

"Oh god..." Lyra shuddered under the weight of a life being, quite literally, in her hands. Sure, Hiei had been gruff with her, and she was certain that he hated her guts, but he was a close ally of the men who had protected her without a second thought. She couldn't let him die in this cavern, not after Kuwabara had seemed so confident in her, not after learning of the battle that lay ahead.

Her head fell back into Yusuke's chest as she closed her eyes, her body giving up all of its resistance against the heat that ate at her palms. Her defensive aura dropped and Hiei's youki flooded in through her left hand and into her core, where it swirled like a hungry tornado. A grating, discordant hum rattled through her and echoed out into the cave, hitting the onlookers with a wave of nausea.

"Oh... that doesn't sound pretty at all," Fudo groaned as he stood, visibly offended by the sound. He sauntered over to Lyra, his black eyes narrow, as he leaned in close and idly plucked a piece of lint from her collar. "Much higher, dear. Like the angelic tone of a hammer striking steel."

"Back off, dickhead," Yusuke growled in warning, having had more than enough of the god's antics for one lifetime.

"I'm just trying to help," Fudo crooned. He watched the woman as she trembled, running a thoughtful finger along his scarred face. "You just need the proper motivation," he hummed and bent over at her side, plucking a shard of Hiei's broken katana from the ground by her feet. As he lifted the sharp metal by her head, he found his wrist suddenly ensnared by Kurama's rose whip, restraining him from moving any closer. Black eyes met with cold, expressionless emerald as the fox tilted his head in silent warning.

"Easy, kitsune," the god smirked and brought his free hand up, flicking his nail against the broken blade with a high-pitched _ting_.

Lyra's eyes widened at the sound as it tingled through her, a flash of understanding illuminating her features. "Again," she demanded quietly.

Kurama loosened his whip, earning him a brusque nod from Fudo. The god craned in even closer to Lyra, bringing the shard of metal right to her ear, and tapped it again. The sound ran through her, acting like a tuning fork and giving her mind a focal point. Her breathing calmed and she began to hum, harmonizing her voice with the metallic ring. Her muscles relaxed as her mind wandered into the depths of the sound, feeling every rise and fall of the sine wave as if her body were floating along its peaks and valleys, disappearing into the purity of sound.

* * *

Lyra stood within the dining room of her childhood home, her body completely invisible within the full-length mirror behind the oak table. Dulcet music played all around her, two sopranos singing the _Flower Duet_ and weaving a tapestry of beauty in the air. Her heart swelled as she glimpsed her Grandmother Hope in the living room next to her, swaying to her favorite operatic piece; her pale, wrinkled skin flecked with a rainbow of paint as she danced in front of an easel. Lyra recognized the painting that she was working on, a garden of lotus blossoms that would later hang above her bed for years to come.

 _'A memory...'_ Lyra realized, every sound and motion playing out exactly as she had experienced over a decade ago.

"What is this?" Hiei's gruff voice cut in, breaking through Lyra's revere like a gunshot. He regarded his surroundings with mild interest. Mere moments ago he had been writhing in agony in a sweltering cave, and now he stood in a peaceful home full of lush plants and sunlight. It was a slightly jarring change for the Jaganshi.

"Um..." Lyra faltered, picking at the hem of her keikogi top, completely unsure of how to process seeing the fire demon in her memory. She had inadvertently pulled them to a safe place within her mind to escape the pains of reality for a moment, with no clue as to how she had managed it.

Her search for words was put on hold as a child ran past her from the kitchen, and eleven-year-old girl bearing her exact likeness who was completely oblivious to the onlookers from a future time. A dusting of flour was on the girl's bronze cheeks, evidence of the very important biscuit recipe she had been toiling away with in the kitchen. She leaned against the door frame leading into the living room and shouted, "Granny Euna, how much baking powder again?"

"I'm right here, quit yellin'!" Euna admonished as she rounded the corner, her hands set firmly behind her back as she tried to keep a rather large object hidden from the child.

Young Lyra immediately noticed Euna's secretive behavior and started bouncing excitedly from foot to foot. "Is that the birthday present that you said I totally wasn't going to get because I set that squirrel loose in the neighbor's house? Huh? HUH?"

Hope doubled over in laughter in front of her easel, nearly dropping her palette of paint.

Euna let out a long-suffering sigh and pulled a red guitar from behind her back, handing it to the girl. Young Lyra squealed and latched onto the instrument, pulling it to her chest like it was a precious treasure. "Oh my god, it's a Gibson SG Special! In the cherry finish, too! It looks just like _Monkey_!" she gushed.

"What is that thing?" Hiei grunted, giving the instrument a sideways glance.

Lyra balked at the fire demon, a mix of offense and pity crossing her features at the thought of him never seeing a guitar before. In that moment, she resolved to return to Makai once their ordeal was over and introduce demonkind to proper rock n' roll. A sly smile tugged at her lips, as she knew exactly what was about to unfold. "In my hands, a weapon," she replied coyly.

Young Lyra bounded over to the amplifier tucked in the corner of the living room while Hope and Euna looked on in sudden horror. She plugged it in, quickly set her fingers on the D-chord, and came down on the strings with a mighty strike. The amplifier exploded in a ball of sparks as every window in the house shattered.

"Oh lord..." Euna groaned, tucking a salt-and-pepper braid behind her ear.

"NOT AGAIN!" Hope wailed, dropping her paintbrush in exasperation.

* * *

A blinding flash of light snapped Hiei and Lyra back into their bodies, reality returning in a searing rush of heat. Lyra felt the energy at her core flow into her right hand, just as her own reiki had moved effortlessly as a child when she first grabbed the guitar. Hiei's youki broke loose from her hand with an audible _pop_ , energy returning to him in a tidal wave of relief. The veins in his arms relaxed as the pain began to ease, slowly replaced with a soft, pleasant warmth.

"It's working!" Kuwabara shouted, pumping his fist in the air in excitement.

The transfer of youki grew more rapid as the low hum began vibrating at higher and higher frequencies in Lyra's body, until it rang as clear as a crystal bell. Hiei's eyes opened as he felt control returning to his muscles, his bloodstream flooded with a wave of fresh power. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, a pure flame that needed no fuel, nothing to consume. This wasn't the power of the sword he felt, it was his own youki, brighter, lighter, and more responsive, as if he had just endured months of grueling training in a few short minutes.

When the last of Hiei's energy passed through Lyra and returned home, an explosion resonated from the Jaganshi as his aura locked into place, throwing the girl and the Mazoku back. They tumbled across the floor and off of the platform, careening for the violet lava below. Kurama was already in motion, throwing his whip out as a lifeline. When the whip became taught with a sudden weight on the other end the fox was jerked across the smooth stone, his feet shifting quickly to find purchase in a small crack in the floor, barely stopping himself from sailing over the edge.

Kuwabara ran to them and heaved a deep sigh of relief when he saw Yusuke hanging on tightly to the rose whip with his right arm, with Lyra tucked haplessly under his left. He grabbed on and helped Kurama reel them in, his hands quite grateful that the fox was able to create a thornless version of his signature weapon. When Yusuke's hand was finally in reach, Kuwabara clamped on and heaved his friends up over the edge.

"You guys sure do think fast," Lyra huffed as Kurama helped her stand on shaky feet. He looked over her, checking for injuries, but she nervously waived him off

"Um, guys?" Kuwabara breathed, all of the color draining from his features as he pointed to the fire demon at the center of the platform.

Fresh, raw power radiated from him where he levitated over the small blast crater in the stone floor. His battle aura had come to life with demonic flame, roving along his skin in a slow, pulsing dance. The katana in his hands that had been hungry to consume him moments ago now sat tame, silent, and ready for his bidding. His eyes had changed, his scleras now a deep, inky black around his scarlet irises. He was calm and sharp, his mind cleared of noise that he hadn't even realized was there.

"Hiei?" Kurama prodded as he slowly approached the fire demon. Everyone could sense a change in him, and it set an uneasy cloud over the group. An unpredictable Jaganshi posed a hell of a threat.

Hiei lifted the silver blade and his cold expression gave way to a devilish smirk at the reflection of his new eyes staring back at him. "Let's go kill a god," he rumbled as his feet set down.

"If you insist," the fox smiled, a whisper of excitement bubbling up from his Youko spirit.

Fudo cleared his throat and pushed off from where he had been leaning against the leg of his own stone likeness. No attention had been on him for several minutes now, and he was decidedly put off by that. It was _his_ temple, after all. "Don't get too attached, fireling. Once Enma is dead and my bonds are broken, I plan to reclaim my sword," he announced.

Hiei regarded him with a disinterested frown. "Your aura radiating off of it is obnoxious, I will gladly return it to you, slick with blood."

"Excellent. Now I suggest you go, this meeting has not gone unnoticed," the god said while shooing his visitors away, his patience for guests growing thin.

"Who noticed it?" Yusuke asked, eyes narrowing at Fudo.

Fudo smiled wickedly, the curve of the scar across his mouth adding a touch of derangement to his expression. "Everyone, my boy," he purred before snapping his fingers and blinking out of sight.

"Wait! What's that supposed to–" Yusuke's protests were cut short by what sounded like a distant clap of thunder. The sound was soon followed by a shockwave that rolled through the ground like an angry serpent. "Fuck... that was Yomi," he groaned, immediately recognizing the energy.

"Not just him," Kuwabara corrected as he closed his eyes to focus on the powers swelling outside, "SDF, and a small army of demons, too."

"SDF?" Lyra squeaked, turning to Kurama, "I thought you said they wouldn't follow us!"

"Something must have changed," he hummed, a bit too calmly for Lyra's liking. "They'd have to be desperate to come here."

Three more explosions rattled in rapid succession, much closer than the first, and the girl struggled to keep her footing against the tremors that followed. "Yeah, I'd say that sounds pretty desperate," she bit sarcastically.

"We need to get out of here fast, and I don't recommend the front door," Kuwabara added, eyeing the entrance to the cavern as the auras approaching from outside bombarded his awareness.

"THERE'S ONLY ONE DOOR!" Yusuke howled, flapping his arms in annoyance, looking very much like a flustered parrot.

The tension in the room broke instantly as a playful chime rang out from Kurama's back pocket. Everyone shot him a confused look and the chime rang again, sounding like a child's bicycle bell. The fox knit his eyebrows as he pulled out the communication mirror and flipped it open, concerned about what Koenma could be contacting them about. A tinny voice came blaring out, garbled by bursts of static. "Kur... the... just escalated... charging... dimensional ca–!"

"Koenma, I can barely hear you," Kurama prompted.

"Father... dimensional cannon... we–"

Before Koenma's hysterical voice could finish the line went entirely dead. The atmosphere in the room shifted, the stifling hotness submitting to a precipitous chill. The hairs on Kuwabara's arms stood at attention, his heart suddenly clenched by a dread that froze him to the core. He quickly called upon his dimension sword and cleaved it down through the air in front of him, ripping a hole in reality itself.

"Go," he said, his voice wavering a nausea welling up in his gut.

Yusuke looked to his uneasy friend with concern. "Kuwabara, are you nuts? We're too far from where we crossed over! We won't even end up in Japan if–"

"Go... now..." Kuwabara heaved through shuddered breaths, fighting back the urge to vomit.

The cavern grew colder still and a low reverberation tore through the room. Lyra collapsed to her knees and her eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed by the terrible emotion within the sound. Something was coming, bigger than any attack from demon or god. No one needed any further motivation and began diving through the portal, Kuwabara scooping up Lyra and flying through last.

They were met with icy, dark waters in the human plane, swallowing them up as the fell from the sky. When they all finally surfaced, it became clear to them that they had landed in a predicament. Open ocean stretched out all around them, the moon casting its silver glow on their otherwise black surroundings. No shadows of land were visible on the horizon, only the cold, lonely drink.

Kurama wriggled in the water for a moment and brought a sodden lump of white fabric to the surface. They all gave him varying degrees of side-eye, while Yusuke made a point to swim just a bit farther away from him in confusion.

"Everyone," the fox announced, "remove your pants."

* * *

 **[A/N]** I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. All will be explained in the next episode! XD Thank you for reading, and I hope you are enjoying the journey so far! For those of you that aren't metalheads like me, _Monkey_ was the name of Tony Iommi's (guitarist for Black Sabbath) red Gibson guitar. Today's episode title is from _Awakening_ by Judas Priest.

Thank you so much again to **Baoh joestar** for your continued support! Reviews and messages light up my day and let me know that my hard work is reaching out to people. I will continue to grow and learn and give y'all the best that I can! Feel free to find me on deusvenenare . tumblr . com and send me questions, or to check out my YYH fandom posts. Much love!


	11. A Pain That I'm Used To

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Eleven ]

 _A Pain That I'm Used To_

Wherein Kurama tastes something sweet.

* * *

They had been bobbing uselessly in the water for a few hours, held afloat by the makeshift life jackets they had crafted from their pants. The moon had given way to the first light of dawn, golden rays stretching across the water but still revealing no land nearby. Hiei was set in deep concentration, attempting to reach out with his Jagan and make contact with anyone that he could, while Kurama had handed off the communicator to Kuwabara, hoping that his strong spirit sense would be able to suss out a connection where the fox had failed.

Lyra had somehow managed to coax Hiei into lending her one of his belts so she could lash the waistband of her inflated pants to her chest, allowing her to float hands-free and play a soft tune on her harmonica. She had joked that if she tried hard enough, she might be able to attract a helpful pod of whales to guide them to shore.

"Hey, Kurama! I'm getting something!" Kuwabara crowed, waving the communicator excitedly over the water. The small screen displayed only static, but a faint voice began skipping through the fuzz. "Botan, is that you?"

"Ku... on... ay!" Everyone recognized the reapers voice, but her words were indecipherable.

Hiei's eyes cracked open and he nodded to the Western horizon, his Jagan finally picking up on something. "Botan is almost here."

Kuwabara looked to the West, narrowing his eyes to see with his second sight. His face broke into a mile-wide grin as he spotted what he was looking for. "And she brought company!"

They all turned, the light of daybreak at their backs. Within minutes, what was a small disturbance in the distance closed in on them, and Kurama had to stop himself from chuckling at the sight. Jin flew at a breakneck speed above the water, ropes hanging from his ankles and tied off to the bow of a neon green speedboat. Botan sat behind the helm, clinging onto it for dear life as the Wind Master pulled the craft much faster than its motor would ever allow.

As the rescue party got close, Jin pulled the boat up sidelong, splashing everyone with a rough wake as he came to a stop. Botan stood on shaky legs to drop the ladder at the back of the boat and then turned to her drenched friends with a joyous salute. "All aboard the S.S... um..." she paused and leaned over the edge to read the name painted on the side, " _Wet Dream_? Jin!"

Jin winced at Botan's admonishing shriek. "D-don't look at me, I didn't see the name before I took it!" He stammered, holding his hands up innocently.

He had most certainly seen the name.

The waterlogged fighters pulled themselves into the boat, quick to finally be out of the cold water and strip the confining floats from their necks. All but Yusuke and Lyra hurriedly slipped their pants back on in their proper place. Yusuke was rather comfortable without them, sprawling out in a seat in just his boxers, while the Lyra was frozen in place, shaking like a leaf.

Botan swiftly set herself to rifling through the various storage compartments and produced a large towel from one of them. "Bingo!" She chimed triumphantly and rushed to Lyra. She stretched out the towel as a screen to block the human from view. "Take off that top and wrap up in this, dear. We need to get you dried off!"

"Y-you are a s-saint," Lyra chattered as the ferry girl carefully attended to her. The soft, dry towel felt like heaven against her pruned skin.

"Dryin' off won't be much of a problem here in a minute!" Jin announced as he set off. The wind kicked up violently as he accelerated, forcing everyone to duck low and hold on tightly. The spritely demon pushed the structural limits of what the boat could handle, and within an hour and a half, they had made it back to land, arriving on the familiar shore just East of Genkai's compound.

As per Jin's promise, everyone was bone dry and wind chapped by the time they made it there. Kuwabara was the first one out of the boat, all of his weariness dissipating in an instant now that he was so close to Yukina and his sister. Hiei was the second to disappear, while everyone else fell into an easy stride for the hike to the dojo.

Kurama moved up to walk next to Botan, his curiosity and concern for his mother's safety making it impossible to wait. "Was there a blast in Ningenkai like the one that was aimed for us?"

Botan looked at him solemnly but set a reassuring hand on his bicep. "Yes, but not in Japan. One went off in India, and the second in Russia." Her pink eyes glistened with threatening tears as she spoke. "India believes it was an attack by Pakistan, and they are on the brink of war. Russia is blaming theirs on the Americans... everything is going sour, _fast_."

"Great, so now it's not just gods we have to worry about," Lyra sighed, holding her towel close as if it could offer some comfort against the thought of the entire human realm plunging into an all out nuclear war.

They made it up the last steep hillside to see the dojo proper, where Kuwabara was already kneeling in the courtyard, clinging tightly to Yukina's diminutive form. Shizuru stood at the base of the steps, worry-worn dark circles under her eyes, but she wore a smile of relief in seeing her brother in one piece. Koenma was waiting in the doorway at the top of the stairs, his face pale and hollow as his physical body suffered the heavy burdens of stress.

"A lot has happened while you all were gone," the young god professed, gesturing for everyone to enter.

"That's an understatement," Shizuru mumbled around her cigarette.

Everyone filed inside and, to Kurama's great amusement, Hiei didn't even sneer as he passed Kuwabara and Yukina. Baby steps of progress after seven years still counted at progress. Perhaps the fox had a chance of convincing the fire demon to make an appearance at the wedding after all, as it had been the only gift that Yukina had requested.

They all sat at the low table in the center of the room, Lyra taking a moment to hide behind a screen and slip back into her clothes. Placed in the middle of the table was a broken crown, a hefty looking golden ornament encircled with five skulls carved out of pearl. Yukina immediately began tending to Kuwabara's burnt hands, while Botan set to work on Lyra's.

"So, the _oh shit_ meter is at a hundred percent, right?" Yusuke prodded when Koenma didn't start speaking.

"Yes, I suppose so," Koenma began, sparing an odd look to Yusuke's gray plaid underwear, "Once Enma found out that you were in Fudo's temple he took aim with the dimensional cannons. It seems that he would rather resort to systematically destroying Makai and Ningenkai than allow us to bring him down."

" _Cannons_? As in more than one? What the hell are they, and how many are we dealing with?" The former detective asked, scratching irritably at his ear.

"There are three of them. Weapons that come from an era of ignorance and decadent pride in Reikai. They all went off simultaneously, one targeting Fudo's temple, while the remaining two targeted other gods trapped in Ningenkai," Koenma sighed.

"Other gods? How many has he locked up trying to cover his tracks?" Kuwabara questioned, absently clenching his, now healed, hands.

"All of them, apparently," Botan chimed in as Koenma placed a folder on the table. She opened it up and pulled out two small maps, one of the human plane, and the second of Makai. Several points were circled in red, most of them with an 'X' scratched through them in black. "Ayame sent us this information. She stayed behind after we left, and swore allegiance to Enma so we could have eyes on the inside. We... we lost all contact with her right before the first blast."

Koenma reached out over the table to give the reaper's hand a comforting squeeze as her voice began to crack. "As Enma has grown more powerful, he has gone back to destroy which gods that he could. Most of them were already wiped out before I even learned of this charade, only a handful of them remain; Fudo, whom you've already met, and four others," he said.

"Two others, now," Botan corrected, looking to the crown on the table. "We believe this was Daikoku's, one of Enma's siblings. They were lost when the river in India where they were imprisoned was struck by the blast. This is all that Jin could find of them."

"And what of the third attack? Who was that aimed at?" Kurama asked, recalling Botan's mention of a strike in Russia. His ears were trained on the conversation, but his eyes were drawn to the broken artifact sitting in front of him. The longer he sat next to it, the harder it was to ignore the strange magnetism that pulled at the corners of his consciousness.

"Touya reported back but hasn't found anything yet. He's still on sight looking for clues, but we're assuming whoever was there was wiped out as well" Koenma disclosed. "The sites are not named, so we don't know who is left."

"So, no sign of the other brother that Kannon mentioned, Jikoku?" Kuwabara huffed, stress eating at the edge of his voice.

The young god merely shook his head in the negative and frowned.

Hiei snorted impatiently as he leaned into the door frame. "Why don't we just storm Reikai now instead of sitting around and talking about all of the things we don't know?"

"Because of this," Koenma said as he pulled another page from the file, "Ayame also reported that Enma is somehow mass producing new soldiers at an alarming rate. I had suspicions when they first stormed the Gate of Judgment... the Special Defense Force has always been kept at the same number of troops throughout history; one hundred and eight. However, they had at least two thousand soldiers during their initial attack."

"How many do they have now?" Lyra asked, leaning in to look at the papers strewn across the table, but having no luck reading them.

"Ayame estimated around fifty thousand, all of them A-class," Koenma answered gravely.

An overwhelming silence fell over the room as everyone was sobered by the information. As much as Hiei wanted to brush aside the revelation as meaningless against a group of S-class fighters, numbers like that would easily overwhelm even the likes of Raizen. A direct attack, however desirable, would be certain suicide.

The group's contemplation was disrupted suddenly by Kuwabara skittering away from the table in fright. All eyes fell on him as he pointed a shaky finger at the crown, sweat beading on his forehead. "That thing just freakin' talked!" He hollered.

Yukina quickly moved to his side, pressing the back of her hand to his head to test his temperature. "Are you feeling alright?"

"NO!" He screeched. "That thing sounded like hell itself!"

"I didn't hear any–" Lyra's words ended abruptly as her eyes shot wide. She stood up and took a few backward steps from the table, locked in an uneasy trance. When her pupils finally refocused she shook her head. "Fuck that," she snapped in English, "I'm going outside." With that, she spun on her heels and marched out the door, but not before snatching a cigarette from Shizuru that was in the process of being lit. The brunette looked only half irritated as she followed, resigned to the idea of having someone to smoke with.

" _Mercy..."_

Kurama bristled, icy fingers crawling up his spine. He locked his attention quickly to the sparkling ornament that now seemed to be speaking, yet no one else showed any indication that they could hear it.

" _Mercy..."_

Two hissing voices reverberated within his mind, one masculine, one feminine, both speaking as one. His vision darkened, his view of the room fading away. He found himself floating above a turbulent lake of blood. Bobbing on the crimson surface were severed limbs and heads of both human and demonkind alike, faces frozen in terror and madness. Levitating over the center of the lake was an immense shadow, the form of an androgynous being with four arms, all gripping fierce blades. Upon its head, the only feature not blanketed in darkness, was the golden crown of skulls that had been sitting in front of the fox moments before.

"Show me... the extent... of your mercy," the voices called out, slow and sinister.

Electricity tore through Kurama, ripping at the fibers behind his eyes. A sphere of light appeared before his body, his memories playing out within it like a movie on fast forward. Centuries of kills, centuries of blood. The face that stood out to the demon, above all, was Amanuma's. The boy, innocent and fearful, that he had ruthlessly struck down in a bid to save the world.

"Hundreds of years of selfishness, but you have been taught the meaning of nobility," they proclaimed, "still, your mercy is sparse."

Kurama narrowed his eyes, growing agitated with this examination. "What do you want?"

"Daikoku wants you!" They bellowed, their dual voices shaking the world around the fox.

"For what, exactly?" he demanded.

"To show no mercy, like Daikoku. To strike down the slave masters... Is this not your wish?" They proposed, voices dropping to a low seethe.

"Masters?" Kurama asked, a small smirk playing across his lips. "Plural?"

To his surprise, the voices laughed, a strange guttural rumble. "To assume only one evil in the universe is ignorance of the highest order."

"I suppose so," the fox hummed, his formerly tense body relaxing to a cool indifference.

"Will you take Daikoku? Will you shed blood with us? Will you... show no mercy like Time itself?" The voices teemed with excitement, like two wolves salivating in the shadows.

Kurama set a contemplative finger on his chin, making a show of thinking it through. After watching Hiei's exchange with Fudo, and not yet understanding the true scope of the gain he received, it could prove risky. He wasn't too keen on sacrificing himself to potential pain if it wasn't warranted. "What's in it for me? How will it better the efforts of my team?"

The electricity returned, ripping at him more hungrily than before. Dismembered corpses in the lake below began reassembling, but without order; human torsos attaching as heads to demonic bodies, claws merging to eyelids. The disgusting amalgamations of flesh sprang up from the bloody pool, aiming misplaced talons and fangs squarely at Kurama.

Without hesitation, he ran a hand through his hair, grabbing the seed for his rose whip. The thorns lashed out to meet his aggressors, tearing limbs to pieces once again, but it did not stop them. He felt a pulse behind his eyes, an energy that wasn't his own, and time rendered to a crawl. Kurama lifted his left hand, moving his fingers tentatively, noting that his own body was not affected by the deceleration. Looking once again to the attacking creatures as they approached in slow motion, the fox saw pulsing orbs of red light within the masses of skin and bone.

"Straight to the heart of the matter," Daikoku's voices purred in pleasured harmony.

The hearts. The orbs were the hearts of the beasts, disarranged behind eyeballs and kneecaps. Literal blades of grass sprung up between Kurama's knuckles, sharp and solid as kunai, and he set them loose, piercing the red orbs with precision. The chimeras tore apart as they were struck, pieces of them crashing lifelessly back into the scarlet deep. The crackling energy released its hold on the fox, and time returned to its normal flow.

"See their weakness, make them _crawl_ ," they sang, the four arms of the shadow brandishing their blades in a joyful dance.

Kurama could not deny the rush that he felt, the familiar drug of satisfaction flooding his brain. This blood magic tasted sweet in his mouth, and he smiled, a bit too feral for his human form. A bit too much like the Youko. With a deep breath, he calmed himself and set his emerald gaze to the dark god.

"Count me in."

* * *

A/N: Here it is, finally! For those of you that follow me on Tumblr, you know about the trouble I had with my computer. So sorry for the late update! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I've had all kinds of bad luck these last two weeks... here's hoping for a better horizon. Today's chapter title comes from _A Pain That I'm Used To_ by Depeche Mode, one of my absolute favorite bands. I'll be posting a link to it on my blog, deusvenenare . tumblr . com!

And a HUGE HUGE thank you to my reviewers **Baoh joestar** (who has been so supportive from the start, it really means the world!) and **StarCharter** (who recommended my fic on her Tumblr and has taken the time to review several chapters, thank you SO MUCH)!


	12. You Get What You Need

.

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Twelve ]

 _You Get What You Need_

Wherein Yusuke would much rather be punched than talk about feelings.

* * *

Yusuke sat across from Kurama at the low table, trying to focus on the fresh cup of tea that Yukina had brought him, but he couldn't help but glance up every few seconds to stare at the kitsune's eyes. The usual green of his human body had been replaced with the piercing gold of the Youko, now rimmed with a circle of crimson. The rest of him had remained the same; his voice, frame, and hair still very much Shuichi, but those eyes were an unnerving sight for anyone who had ever been in the presence of the demon's true form.

It was easy to forget that Kurama was a killer of the highest order, even after their years-long friendship. 'Shuichi' was such a well-polished mask, down to the last detail. His mannerisms, his measured words, even his ever-clean and trim fingernails. Every single aspect was groomed and designed to make him both stand out and blend in in all of the right ways, to lull the people around him into a sense of gentile security. Yusuke never really paid attention to how much effort Kurama had put into his facade until a crack appeared in it.

He was caught between curiosity and being _creeped the hell out_.

The fox was more than aware of the inquisitive looks. Yusuke was not a subtle creature, by either nature or choice. Kurama found no offense in Yusuke's staring, however, his mind more concerned with coming up with a reasonable explanation for the change to give to his mother should his eyes not switch back after the battle was fought and ended.

"This should be enough," Kuwabara sighed proudly as he returned to the living area with the last of the rolled-up futons he could scrounge from the back corners of the dojo. Koenma, Shizuru, and Jin were already asleep on the couch, the first two from exhaustion, and the third by sheer boredom from watching the news. They had all wordlessly decided to sleep in the same room. With so many potential threats to worry about, pack mentality had claimed them; the desire to stay safe, close, and aware against the coming night.

Lyra moved from her seat on the floor in front of the couch, listlessly tuning out the world by listening to the news anchors repeat the same things over and over again. She groaned as she stood, her body worn ragged after helping with two energy exchanges in less than 24 hours. Granted, Kurama's had been much easier than Hiei's. The fox was a little more prepared and had grabbed the crown of his own free will, but the process was still a heavy burden. "I think I've shaved a couple of years off my life in the last few days," she murmured as she shuffled over to Kuwabara to help him roll out the beds.

"Pretty sure the last few days have lasted for a couple of years, so it balances out, right?" Kuwabara wondered aloud as he positioned the last futon in the corner. He quickly flopped into his spot before anyone else could claim it, removing his shirt and slapping it onto his face as an eye-mask as he keeled over in exhaustion.

Lyra trudged her way over to the table and started gleaming through the scattered paperwork. She wasn't sure why she had decided to look over the report, she couldn't read a lick of Japanese, but her heart was still too unsettled to surrender to sleep. Three weeks was all they had left, Koenma had informed them, three weeks before the Dimensional Cannons would be recharged and ready to strike again. She had a feeling that Reikai wouldn't wait that long to strike again, however. None of them really felt as if they would be that lucky.

"US President Whitmore seemed tense, but diplomatic during the press conference; offering condolences for the destruction on Russian soil, and remaining firm that the United States had no involvement," the TV news anchor with uncomfortably perfect teeth said. "Russian officials have offered no public statements since their initial reports immediately following the attack. In fact, the Russian media appears to be on a full blackout, with all news stations silent for the last several hours..."

"Well, that's not a good sign," Lyra sighed, drumming her fingers on the table.

Yusuke downed the last of his tea, wishing it had a little extra spirit in it. "Why's that?"

"If there's a media blackout, then that usually means that something bad is going down that the government doesn't want the rest of the world watching," she replied wearily.

The Mazoku leaned in. "Like?"

"Like riots, or perhaps military maneuvering," Kurama finished, paying unusually close attention to the front door. His new vision showed him a large red dot approaching from outside, but Hiei hadn't budged from his lounging spot on the porch.

"Ugh, politics. There's nothing worse," Yusuke groaned.

The shoji door flew open with an angry _clack_ , revealing an out of breath and very sad looking Keiko, with an even sadder Puu on her shoulders. She opened her mouth to yell at Yusuke, but thought better of it when she saw all of the sleeping souls scattered around the room.

Yusuke closed his eyes and took a deep, sobering breath. "Fuck me." He stood, taking careful steps towards her, giving Puu a quick pat as he flapped past him and onto the safety of Kurama's head. The Spirit Beast always knew when there was about to be a fight between the two lovers, and knew well to stay out of the fray.

"Keiko," Yusuke said quietly, almost like a prayer.

She fell into him with a hug, pinning his arms to his sides in a tight squeeze. The smell of her strawberry shampoo tickled his nose and he immediately relaxed in her embrace. It didn't last long, though, as she quickly pushed herself off of him and grabbed him by the arm to pull him outside. Once they were far enough into the dark courtyard not to disturb anyone inside she rounded on him with a soul-melting glare.

"Yusuke, do you have any idea how worried I was?!" she hissed, restraining her voice to a sharp whisper.

"Pretty damn, by the looks of it," he said, taking her hands and running his thumbs over fingernails marred by nervous biting.

"The last thing I hear from you is that you're going to a concert, then I see the arena that you were supposed to be at on the news because of some weird terrorist attack where a musician went missing, _then_ you drop off the map for nearly a week without a phone call!" She admonished, speaking with her hands the way she always did when she trying to resist smacking the daylights out of him.

"Keiko, I'm sorry, I had no idea this was going to blow up the way it did... I just didn't have time," he defended, his shoulders slumped with regret.

"You're so full of– where are your pants?" she redirected as her anger faded enough to finally notice that he was standing there in his boxers.

Yusuke pursed his lips and hummed. No one had said anything about it, and he had honestly forgotten that he'd spent the entire day parading around in his underwear. He felt betrayed. Friends were supposed to give you the heads-up on stuff like that.

"Um... we almost got blown up by a dimensional cannon in Makai, so we had to hop through a portal real quick and we dropped in the middle of the ocean... and, uh... did you know you could use your pants as a flotation device?" he spluttered, laughing nervously as she stared.

Keiko sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and scrunching her eyebrows, fighting an internal battle on how to respond. She believed every unbelievable word, knowing well what a terrible liar he was. The strange situations that man could get into were the stuff of legend, but what was truly unbelievable to her was how much insanity he could take in stride. He was built for chaos, enjoyed it even.

"Yusuke, I have two years left in college," she let out in a very measured tone, not betraying the skipping of her heartbeat.

He blinked. "Yeah, and then you'll have your Masters and be the best damn teacher Japan has ever seen," he offered without hesitation.

She looked up at him with a calmness that unnerved him. "And then I will have a normal adult job, with normal adult responsibilities."

His shoulders slumped as a rock dropped in his stomach. They had this argument once before, right after he had gotten back from the second Makai Tournament covered in demon markings and smelling like blood that wasn't his own. It was the same week as her semester finals, a week that had stressed Keiko near to her breaking point. She had been twisted into knots by his return, a mix of joy and fear flooding through her. Everything about what he was when he went off to battle was so alien to her, but it was something that he lived for. He was happy about being broken and bruised. War was his blood, his calling, and it was the one thing that she could never understand no matter how much she studied.

"Keiko, I–" his words caught in his throat and he smoothed his hair back out of nervous habit, "I will never be normal. I've tried, I've tried _so_ hard because I care about you and want to give you the life that you want, but..."

"Yusuke," she said his name gently, "I can see it in your eyes when we're together. You're distant, you're... in _that place_ , not with me."

She never did like saying _Makai_. It was the other world where he had friends, responsibilities, and a destiny. It was a world that she could never go to, never be a part of.

"I thought you would eventually come back to me, go back to being the boy I grew up with, but your discomfort in doing regular human things just kept growing." Her hand reached out to squeeze his arm. "When you're with me you look like one of those poor creatures at the zoo that are caged up far away from home. I don't want to be a cage, Yusuke."

"You're not a cage, I love y–" she stopped him suddenly with a kiss, her sweet honey lip balm becoming the only thing his mind could focus on. His hands found her waist as he pulled her closer, wanting her familiar body heat against his own. Her slender fingers slid into the fold of his top and splayed against his chest, and she pushed herself away from him slowly.

"I know you love me, and I love you, but I can't keep asking you to be normal. This," she said, tapping her fingers against his skin, "will never allow you to be."

Her throat clenched as she fought back the urge to sob. His heart, as always, gave only one thump, as hers fluttered away. It was so slow, so measured, that even when he was excited, he would seem on the verge of death if someone were to check his pulse.

"Heart rate is inversely related to average lifespan," she stated, looking at him with a sullen glaze over her brown eyes, "you're heartbeat is really slow, Yusuke. Mine averages eighty beats per minute, yours beats once every _few_ minutes. It means that you are going to live a lot longer than I will."

Yusuke stared at her as he replayed her words in his mind. It had taken him so long to admit it to himself that he never imagined that she would come to the understanding on her own. He had been so desperate to find a way to soften the blow that he hadn't seen that she was already fighting the battle.

"We both want wildly different things, we both have different destinies ahead of us. A couple should grow together organically, not be forced. It's unfair of me to ask you to stick around and watch me turn into an old woman without you, just as it's unfair of you to ask me to spend the rest of my life wondering what grand, earth-shattering scheme is going to pull you away for a week, for months... for years," she said calmly as her tears broke free.

Yusuke opened his mouth, but words failed to form. The lost look in his eyes was like ice water on Keiko's soul. She knew, right then, that she could ask him to turn away from it all, to give up everything and live with her as she dreamed, and he wouldn't hesitate. He would walk away from all for her.

And she could never allow that to happen.

She could never be so cruel.

"I love you, Yusuke. Goodbye." Her voice cracked almost imperceptibly, but she held her head high as she turned and began walking away.

Yusuke shuddered, his skin growing cold where the warmth of her hand had been on his chest a few short moments before.

 _Keiko_.

His fingernails curled into his palms.

"Keiko!" he shouted as she reached the stairway that would lead her back to her own world.

She paused, craning her head to glace at him, but not daring to turn her whole body. If she did, she would run to him, and her resolve would be in ruins. "Yes, Yusuke?"

He swallowed roughly. "You know you can call on me if you ever need help, right?"

She smiled brightly, sadness chased away by a genuine flood of peace. "Of course I know. You are a hero, after all."

His mouth spoke without his permission, as it was prone to do. "Kissass."

"Jerk," she laughed back to him and started down the stairs, slowly bobbing out of his sight.

Yusuke's head spun as he attempted to decipher the strange new sensation settling in his gut. He expected to be sad, to be angry, but instead there was a vacuum. It was a silent acceptance that sat as a graveyard where all of his thoughts and feelings lay buried. He unclenched his hands, his fingers numb from the pressure, and slowly meandered back inside. Most everyone was asleep now, peacefully curled up on couches, chairs, and futons, the room dark. Yusuke hadn't even noticed that the sun had been setting when Keiko arrived.

Motion caught his attention as the door to the kitchen slid open quietly, revealing Kurama, his face calm as usual. Yusuke looked past the fox into the dimly lit kitchen and spotted Hiei and Lyra perched on stools at opposite ends of the counter, glasses set firmly in their hands. A bottle of Chu's _Ogre Killer_ sat between them, seemingly glowing on its own within its dark container.

Kurama motioned for Yusuke to follow him into the kitchen and the Mazoku smiled.

"You read my mind."

* * *

 **[A/N]** Feelings! Yay! I'm much better at punching things than I am at talking about feelings in real life, and I have discovered that this translates into my writing. I'm trying to work on that on both fronts, so I figured it was time to start putting the gears into motion for the romance sub-plots in my story. I am a slow burn kinda girl, and I might have some surprises for y'all (hopefully). This will still primarily be an adventure/supernatural tale with a strong focus on friendship, but we'll have some gushy crud later on down the line.

Episode title is from _Can't Always Get What You Want_ by The Rolling Stones.

Thank you to **Star Charter** for your review of episode seven! And thank you to my new story followers! You guys rock!


	13. The Water's Sweet, but Blood is Thicker

**Warnings:** (I need to go back and add these to each chapter!) **Mentions of alcohol abuse.**

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Thirteen ]

 _The Water's Sweet, but Blood is Thicker_

Wherein Kuwabara takes the lead.

* * *

Kuwabara's feet moved silently over the tatami as he made his way to the kitchen through the mess of futons in the dark living room. It was early morning, just before sunrise, but a nervous energy ran through his body and would not let him sleep any longer. He slid the door open and shut quietly, but his civility was not well rewarded. Yusuke was the first thing he saw when he flipped on the lights, unconscious an lying spread-eagle on the countertop, still in his boxers. An empty bottle of _Ogre Killer_ rested in the crook of his arm, and a line of drool ran down the side of his face as he breathed heavily in his sleep.

Kuwabara dearly wished that he could find this unusual.

Heaving a sigh, he walked past the lout to the fridge to grab a glass of orange juice. Touya was good at keeping the dojo full of food and drink, even with Jin's never-ending stomach to contend with. Seeing the well-stocked refrigerator made Kuwabara wonder about the ice demon; he had apparently gone to Russia but he still hadn't returned. Jin and Touya had been the only ones staying at the dojo when the barrier had gone back up. Chu, Shishi, Rinku, and Suzuki were frequent visitors, but they had all been wrapped up chasing after their respective crushes in Makai, or seeking fame on the killing fields, for quite a while now.

Kuwabara set to starting the coffee maker, knowing full well that the crowd piled in the living room would probably go through a couple gallons of the stuff today. The pops and percolations of the old machine filled the kitchen with a fond memory of watching Genkai make her morning cup. She always did put a little too much Irish in her coffee for a Japanese woman...

"Kuwabara?"

"GAH!" The human jumped like a frightened cat as the voice jolted him from his reminiscing.

Yusuke had stirred on the counter, his arm wiping furiously to remove the drool from his cheek. He blinked a few times to focus his bleary eyes and looked down at his bottle with a grimace. A throbbing headache rattled through his brain, Ogre Killer being the only drink now capable of giving his demon body a hangover. And boy, it was a hellacious one.

Kuwabara looked to his freshly poured glass of juice and frowned, handing it to the Mazoku. He couldn't help but be charitable, despite the fact that the demon had brought this pain upon himself.

"Fuck," Yusuke groaned after chugging down the entire glass in seconds, "don't ever drink Ogre Killer after being sober for a week. You gotta build up to that crap."

Kuwabara snorted at him and snatched the glass away before he could drop it, setting it in the sink. "I wouldn't touch the stuff, anyway. It smells like drain cleaner."

Yusuke's stomach lurched on cue and he turned very pale, swallowing back the bile in his throat as hard as he could. "Works pretty much the same," he grunted.

"Why'd you binge last night anyway, dumb ass? You normally only get plastered when Chu is in town," Kuwabara bit. It came out harsher than he meant for it to, but he was worried about the idiot. Drinking to have fun and sing karaoke was one thing, but drinking when he was obviously an emotional wreck was different. The weight of Atsuko's addiction was not lost on Kuwabara, and it would be far too easy for Yusuke to follow the same road. Sure, he was a demon now and didn't really have to worry about the lasting health problems, but escapism was still a troublesome disease.

Yusuke wanted to be angry but he couldn't muster the strength. He sighed and slid off the counter and slumped into one of the stools before setting sad eyes on his friend. "She dumped me last night, Kuwabara."

When Keiko's energy had arrived at the dojo during the night, the psychic noticed it, but he had decided to keep his eyes shut and at least _pretend_ to be asleep for the sake of their privacy. He knew it couldn't have been good news if she left so soon after she came. Yukina had told him that she was worried about Keiko after their last night out together, but none of it really came as a surprise to Kuwabara after the tension he'd sensed between her and Yusuke slowly build over the last couple of years.

"She had already figured out that I was going to outlive her... I don't know how long she knew, how long it had been eating at her, but she knew," Yusuke sighed, all the weight in the world pushing his shoulders down in defeat.

Kuwabara's eyes softened as he struggled to think of something to say.

He and Yukina had already had this discussion with each other before he ever proposed. Granted, Kuwabara's heightened spiritual energy had already shown signs of slowing his own aging process, but he knew that he would become an old man and pass on, while Yukina retained her youth for centuries. It was a hard pill to swallow, but they were both equally willing to embrace unusual loves during their unusual lives. The impermanence of life was something that haunted every couple, every friendship. They had decided to look past that impermanence and enjoy what they could in the here and now. That was all anybody was ever guaranteed, anyway.

Most humans struggled with this monster in some form, so caught up in what society paints as a perfect picture of life. There was nothing wrong with it, it was a beautiful dream that Kuwabara had once had for himself. It was a dream that no one should ever be asked to give up, one that he had been steered so far away from by fate that he had long ago realized he would never be able to get it back. Keiko still had a chance, though, and Kuwabara couldn't blame her for taking it.

"Urameshi... I'm not going to blow a bunch of smoke up your ass about it. If this is what you have _both_ decided on, then let it be," the psychic said, snatching the bottle off the counter and dangling it over the trash can as he pinned the Mazoku with a hard stare. "Just do me a favor, would ya?"

Yusuke looked at him with a raised eyebrow and sat up straight at the seriousness in his tone. "What?"

"Drink to your victories, not your sorrows," Kuwabara warned and dropped the bottle into the trash with a _thump_ of finality.

Yusuke snorted and gave his friend a sideways smile. For all of the crap he gave to the human, he sure did have a knack for words when the time called for it. "Fine, deal," he grunted.

Kuwabara folded his arms over his chest and nodded to the door that lead down the hall. "And go take a shower, you smell like shit."

Yusuke eyes rolled to the back of his head and he heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Yes, dad!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up for extra effect before he marched out of the room like a pissy teenager. Kuwabara knew it was mostly sarcasm, but gods help him if he ever _actually_ had a kid like him.

He shuddered at the thought.

Returning to the fridge, Kuwabara poured himself another glass of juice and grabbed a granola bar off the counter to tame the growing pit of hunger in his stomach. He nearly had the entire thing in his mouth when Botan slid the door open loudly. "Kuwabara, come here, quick!" she demanded.

He struggled to chew and swallow the horribly dry granola bar as he followed her out to the living room, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. Everyone was gathered around the television in various stages of wakefulness as the news played on screen. A skinny man with too much powder on his face read from the papers on his desk as video of smoke and flames played to his right.

" _...initially believed to be an industrial fire at the shipping port is now showing to be some sort of organized attack. No official reports have been released by the United States government, but eyewitness accounts claim that the attackers are wearing Russian military uniforms. Russian President Veles Fedorov temporarily broke media silence and released a brief statement claiming no involvement with the ongoing incursion, but tensions remain high..."_

"Looks like ol' Enma decided not t' wait," Jin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in worry. Everyone knew that he considered Ningenkai his home now, and it visibly pained him to see things falling apart so quickly.

"We have to get there!" Lyra said, pointing to the TV as fire bloomed over buildings that were nearly unidentifiable through the smoke.

"There's no way of getting you all there in time. Without access to Reikai, any portal I set would have no pathway to break through," Koenma lamented, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he struggled to think.

Lyra rounded on him, grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him to her face, her jaw clenched tight. "Figure it out! That's my hometown in flames!" she barked, a thin veil of anger trying to cover for the fear in her eyes. The room began to rattle and groan as an anxious hum pressed against the walls.

Hiei blinked into existence beside her and set a firm grip on her wrist, his eyes burning into her with warning. "Breathe, human. Fear has no value."

She let loose the breath she'd been holding, remembering the same words that Mukuro had spoken to her not long ago. She untangled her fingers from Koenma's shirt, the pressure in the room returning to normal, but leaving a sharp ring in everyone's ears. She looked to Hiei and relaxed her bowed shoulders, giving him a nod, and he released her. He immediately returned to his spot just a few feet away from Yukina, and Kuwabara realized then that Lyra was lucky that he hadn't straight up beheaded her for losing control with his sister in the room. It seemed that, in his own convoluted way, the fire demon did have a shred of respect for the human.

Or at least, respect for her usefulness.

Koenma grabbed Lyra's hand between his and held it up carefully, drawing her attention to his face. "I am trying. The three worlds are mine to protect, and it pains me to see this turmoil as much as it does you. Please believe me," he said to her, eyes pleading.

Lyra pursed her lips to hide their quiver, and she nodded, fear chased away from her expression by resolve. For a moment, she could feel the resonance of his heartbeat through his hands and recognized his sincerity. If he could be strong, so could she.

Kurama switched off the television and addressed Koenma, "your portals use Reikai as a bridge between points, but if you set one, would Kuwabara's dimension sword be able to cut straight through?"

The young god's brow furrowed in thought before he turned to Kuwabara. "There shouldn't be any reason why it wouldn't work..."

"It's settled, then," the psychic announced and spun on his heels to march outside. "C'mon, Koenma!"

Everyone followed Kuwabara's enthusiastic lead, pouring out into the courtyard. The was sun casting its first rays over the treetops, but the morning birds settled into an uneasy silence as the group took up formation outside. Koenma stood out in front and closed his eyes in concentration, his hands pressed together at his chest in a position of prayer. His voice was low as he chanted in a long-dead dialect, his body warming with a soft white glow.

Kuwabara turned to Yukina and bent over to wrap her up in a hug. Her arms folded around him as her body melded perfectly against his into the sort of hug that carries desperate wishes of safe return. She pulled away from him slowly and looked up with proud eyes. "Be careful, Kazuma."

"Of course, we'll be back in no time," he assured her, his smile genuine.

She leaned back into him, burying her face into his chest. "What do you say we move up the wedding to whenever you get back?" she whispered into his shirt, almost too quietly for him to hear.

His heart knocked against his rib cage and he knelt down, bringing his hands to nestle gently at the delicate curve of her neck. Her ruby eyes were brighter than he had ever remembered, and he paused for a moment to take in every feature as a snapshot that he could hold close in the battle ahead. "Absolutely," he chuckled and pulled her in to press his forehead against hers, his eyes closing at the instant comfort that flooded his body.

The metallic _tink_ of Shizuru's lighter flicking open disrupted the moment, followed by a subtle, but impatient, clearing of her throat. Kuwabara opened his eyes to look up at his sister as she lit her first cigarette of the morning. Her smirk was soft but very noticeable as she looked down at him. He stood, raising a playful eyebrow at her. "You have a comment?"

She let out a puff of smoke and clicked her tongue against her teeth. Her gaze was shaded and distant, the way it always was when she was seeing something that the rest of the world could not. Those were the eyes that saw far past what even Kuwabara's could, sometimes even stretching into the future. She would never call them premonitions –that kind of talk was for campy psychics at the mall– but that was exactly what they were.

"Just... always remember where your heart is, no matter the cost, alright baby bro?" she said simply before moving in and curling a protective arm around Yukina.

Kuwabara took a step back and got a good look at the two most important women in his life, offering a resolute nod to Shizuru. Her advice could be cryptic at times, but it would always make sense at the exact right moment. His sister's intuition was sharper than a pinprick, and he knew to always trust it.

"Oi, are you guys tryin' to leave without me?!" Yusuke's voice broke over the solemn air in the courtyard as he busted out onto the porch, thankfully showered and fully clothed.

For once.

"No, but your slow ass needs to hurry up!" Kuwabara shouted back to him.

Yusuke smoothed back his wet hair as he sauntered up to them. "You're calling _me_ slow?" He tried his damnedest to glare at the human, but his intimidating facade broke with a light chuckle as Kuwabara's flat expression declared that he was having none of the Mazoku's shit. "Where are we going now?"

"A war zone," Kurama said simply, his voice laced with the smallest hint of amusement.

"Sounds fun," Yusuke quipped, bearing an exceptionally toothy grin.

A pulsing thrum echoed from the center of the courtyard as a completed portal materialized in front of Koenma; white, smokey tendrils energy dancing around a flat black circle that hovered a few inches off the ground. Kuwabara glanced at Jin, the demon's ears twitching in either excitement or irritation, he couldn't tell. "You coming with us?"

His red mop of hair bobbed as he shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna go lookin' for Touya since he hasn't checked in for a bit," he said as he fished through the waistband of his pants. He produced one of the communication mirrors and gave Kuwabara a lopsided smile. "If you need me, just call, and I'll be there in a snap!"

Kuwabara nodded to the demon and made his way to the portal, squaring his stance at its mouth. His hands started to heat up as his reiki naturally began flowing to his fingers without conscious thought. Tingles ran the circuit throughout his entire nervous system as his dimension sword materialized, glowing like a miniature sun in his grasp. He raised the weightless blade high and sliced downward, the empty blackness coming to life and spinning like a whirlpool of oil.

He looked back on his comrades, too close to be considered anything less than family, and grinned. "Let's go!"

* * *

 **[A/N]** So this one was light on the action (plenty of that to come, loves) but I really enjoyed writing the character interactions here. Kuwabara's line of "drink to your victories, not to your sorrows" was something I had to learn the hard way after a very bad time in my life. I find that the more I write Kuwabara, the more I realize that I am writing him as the friend that I truly needed when things got rough for me. I truly adore the big derp.

Today's episode title is from Hey Brother by Avicii.

Thank you **Baoh joestar** for your review! And


	14. The Red, it Filters Through

**Content Warning:** a bit more violent than previous chapters.

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Fourteen ]

 _The Red, it Filters Through_

Wherein Lyra draws blood.

* * *

Jackson Square was on fire. It wasn't long past five in the evening, but the sky was dark as midnight with heavy, black smoke billowing into the air. The angry glow of flame dotted the darkness, consuming buildings and filling the atmosphere with a crackling roar. Sirens blared in all directions as police and fire rescue vehicles struggled to pass through the congested streets full of abandoned cars and confused people running with no direction. There seemed to be no real safety left to flee to within the city.

Kuwabara could sense the auras of the SDF scattered all around him, giving him the distinct, itchy feeling that he was surrounded by a swarm of bees. When his eyes traveled north he felt the world narrow, his instincts zooming in on a bright star of energy a few miles away. He pointed forward with his spirit sword and lead the charge, sprinting off before anyone could ask questions.

Yusuke chuckled at his friend's exuberance and turned to Lyra. He flicked her on the shoulder and squat down in front of her, indicating for her to get on his back. She wasted no time, and they were off like a shot as soon as she jumped on, Kurama and Hiei quickly falling into step beside them. They passed Kuwabara quickly, the psychic giving a little grunt of annoyance as he was left behind.

After a blurry five miles or so, they emerged past the buildings onto the street lining the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The sky was visible again, and it was just as chaotic as the scene on the ground. Military helicopters dotted the air, armed with missiles and mounted guns, all aiming at a massive white ball of light floating over the waters. The orb looked to be at least three miles wide, with a surface that rippled like water suspended in zero gravity, the light radiating from within it pulsing like a heart beat. The aircraft held back at a nervous distance, seemingly unsure if opening fire would help or hurt the situation.

Kuwabara's large hand wrapped around Lyra's arm and yanked her back behind a car just as gunshots rang out to the left of them. She peeked up through the car window to see a throng of military Humvees scattered in the street, human soldiers firing desperately into an advancing wave of SDF. The yellow energy surrounding the supernatural beings seemed to be dissolving the bullets in midair before they could do any damage. The SDF met the attack with weapons of their own, rifles and flame throwers letting out a hail of destruction into the line of vehicles.

She clenched her eyes shut and ducked back down behind the car, her stomach lurching and pulse pounding at the sight of the humans being mercilessly gunned down. "They'll all be slaughtered at this rate..." she whispered, trying to choke back a sob.

"They're using human weapons to make themselves look like an invading army," Kurama hissed, the red ring around his gold irises sparking with a dangerous fire.

Yusuke clenched his fists where he crouched, veins in his arms bulging as his blue aura exploded out from him with a force that pressed an unsuspecting Lyra back into the sedan. His eyes lost their normal relaxed sheen and took on a sharp rage that made her shudder. "Fuck it, there's no subtle way to handle this," he growled and jumped away so quickly she almost didn't see him.

Hiei and Kurama followed after the Mazoku before anyone could blink, leaving Lyra alone with Kuwabara. He looked to her, his face stern. "I want you to run behind those buildings over there and find a safe place to hide."

"No, I–"

He quickly silenced her protest by grabbing her chin in his hand and forcing her eyes to meet his. "You don't have a battle aura. All it would take is one stray bullet to kill you," his voice was firm, but there was a deep concern in his gray eyes. "Please."

She sighed and nodded, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. She couldn't say no; she knew that staying behind where Kuwabara would have to watch over her would put him at risk. "Okay," she conceded quietly.

There was a loud blast beside them, and the gunfire kicked up even faster than before. Lyra's heart leapt into her throat and Kuwabara pushed her forward, urging her to make a run for it. She obliged without a second thought and darted for the relative safety of brick and mortar a couple of yards away. Her shoes scraped against asphalt as she skid to a stop in an alley behind a shop, and turned back to watch the scene.

The flames and bullets were overshadowed by a shotgun blast of brilliant blue energy from Yusuke. A flash of green sprang up in the middle of the cadre of SDF soldiers where Kurama stood, a monstrous plant shooting up from the ground and tearing through the blacktop like it was nothing, teeth and vines lashing out in all directions. Hiei was moving too quickly for the eye to follow, the trail of halved bodies Lyra's only indication of where he might be. Kuwabara was further back, his golden sword swinging wildly as he came to the aid of the overwhelmed humans, helping up those who could stand.

A pressure laid into Lyra's ear drums, the hairs on her arm standing on end. She turned to look behind her as she sensed more auras approaching from the south. The SDF scattered throughout the city were making their way to the battle on the shore at an alarming rate. She pulled her harmonica from her back pocket and clinched it tightly, glancing back at the boys as they tore through wave after wave of opponents. She knew that if she used her sound waves to stop the newcomers, she'd have no way of stretching her aura out far enough to cover her comrades _and_ the humans who were trapped in the battle. She would hit friendly targets if she made a move.

Her thoughts were stopped abruptly when a hand clamped around the back of her neck and rammed her face into the wall she was ducking behind. Her vision went black for a split second from the impact and her mouth filled with blood. She fell to her hands and knees and spat out the coppery ooze, gagging as more welled up. She only had but a moment to turn around before a body pounced onto hers, snapping her head back onto the asphalt, splitting it open.

"I knew I should have just killed you instead of trying to take you alive," a woman's voice growled. Lyra's eyes struggled to focus on the figure pinning her down, a blond-headed SDF soldier wearing cammo fatigues instead of the usual gray uniform.

The soldier's hands were at Lyra's neck before she could speak, squeezing so hard she couldn't even manage a gasp. The grip grew tighter and tighter, winding up slowly like a python, the soldier enjoying the feeling of Lyra's windpipe slowly crushing beneath her fingers.

Lyra, knowing that trying to punch at her would be completely useless, instead shot her fingers up as hard and fast as she could, digging straight into the soldier's left eye. The soft flesh gave more easily than Lyra had imagined, popping like a ripe tomato. The soldier howled, springing away from Lyra as fast as she'd come, hands held protectively over her blood-streaked face.

Not giving the solder a chance to recover, Lyra immediately snatched her harmonica from the ground beside her and brought it to her lips. The air tortured her battered throat as she blew as hard as she could, but she pushed passed it and emptied her lungs into the instrument, letting out an awful squawk. Reiki welled up inside of her and followed hot on the heels of the noise, amplifying it to the point where the ghostly image of the sound waves became visible as they traveled through the air.

The soldier's screams halted when the wave hit her, her body going stiff as Lyra focused all of her energy into the sound. The soldier collapsed after a few short seconds, her limbs tangled and limp as if her bones had disintegrated within her body. Lyra instantly regretted her decision to look when she caught sight of the woman's head, a bloody and formless lump of meat with no skull to hold it together. Stomach acid burned an angry path through Lyra's esophagus as she fell forward onto her palms, vomiting as if she had just been kicked in the gut.

 _'I didn't know I could do that...'_

Choking back the wave of dry heaves that followed, she pressed her back against the wall to help herself stand, her body shuddering with pain and adrenaline.

 _'I didn't know I could...'_

 _'I didn't...'_

Her head swam and she fought to keep herself upright through the dizzying hurricane in her body. Relief to be alive and horror at what she had done were battling for dominance. She held her hands up, her red energy still burning brightly around her. Her muscles felt different, twitchy and electric... and alive. She could feel every nerve in her body dance with the motion of her reiki, TV static made liquid and rolling beneath her skin. Even as her breath came in ragged barks, her heartbeat slowed to a meditative pace. The contrast in her vision became sharper, even the taste of blood on her tongue seeming stronger than before.

"This is a battle aura..." she said in awe as she admired the pulsating light flowing from every pore.

 _'Move_.'

Every warning bell in her body sounded off at the same time, and she listened without question. With speed she didn't know she had, she darted out into the street, breaking out into a sprint just as an energy blast tore through the small building she had been shielded behind. The SDF coming up from the south had closed in on her, reducing her hiding spot to rubble with a single blast. She stopped, sparing a look behind her to see a stern looking man with a dark mustache standing at the head of a squad of at least thirty Special Defense Force goons. His armor was different than the bland gray that she was used to, but neither was he dressed in human military garb. To her, he looked like a knight in a suit of armor that shone like platinum, a crimson cloak falling from his shoulders all the way to his feet, with a pattern of white swirls throughout.

Standing in the middle of the street, completely exposed, the psychic didn't even register in his sight. He was looking past her like she was an insect, fixed on the battle at the shore –no, he was looking straight at Yusuke, Lyra realized– contempt swirling in his eyes like a storm. One of the women at his side did notice the human, however. She narrowed her blue eyes at Lyra and nudged the armored knight.

"Captain Otake, it's the Beaumont girl," the soldier said.

Captain Otake brought his hard, brown eyes to Lyra and snorted dismissively. "I have no time for low-level trash, I'm here for the Mazoku," his deep voice rumbled in scorn.

Lyra's jaw ticked. "If you think this _trash_ is going to let you pounce on Yusuke while he's in the middle of a fight, you're missing a few brain cells, Captain Dickhead," she hissed, her energy lashing out from her body in a challenge. Logic had firmly been placed into back seat by adrenaline.

Otake's lip twitched in irritation and he unsheathed his sword from his hip, a bright, luminous blade that matched his armor and had a powerful aura all its own. His reiki crackled out from him like lightening, stirring up a gust of wind that stung Lyra's eyes and slid her backward on her feet a few inches. "You speak with hubris when you are already too late!" he bellowed, brandishing his sword high above his head. "Jikoku has fallen to my army!"

A deafening _crack_ sounded behind her and she whipped around to see its cause. At least two dozen beams of yellow light shot across the water from the Lake Pontchartrain bridge in the distance, slamming into the massive, floating orb with a violent blast. The watery surface began to ripple faster, like its core was coming to a boil. The white light grew brighter and brighter, more blinding than the sun on a summer day, before the orb burst in what looked like a hailstorm of glittering diamonds. The shards of the broken sphere flew out horizontally like a shockwave, shooting through vehicles and buildings like high-caliber bullets, but harmlessly passing through anything that lived.

And then, all fell silent. The gunfire, the sirens, the beating thumps of helicopter blades, everything had dropped into an eerie quiet. Lyra looked around herself in confusion, all color had disappeared from the world around her, and time came to a halt. The battle at the shore was frozen in a mess of energy blasts, vines, and blood spray that stood motionless in the air.

"Muse..."

A voice that resonated like a thousand cellos in an echo chamber resounded up through her feet and into every bone in her body. Her breath hitched at the feeling of utter insignificance in the presence of this power.

"Muse that carries the soul of my dear sister, listen, and heed well," the voice called.

"J-jikoku?" Lyra whispered, remembering to breathe again.

"Yes, young one," Jikoku rumbled, a soft warmth washing over her body with every wave of sound. "I have been felled, and have no strength to give you. All I can manage with these last breaths is a gift of knowledge."

A choir of angelic voices cried out, a sound so powerful that it should have torn her apart, but instead, it brushed against her skin as delicately as feathers. She felt something moved on her arm and she looked down, dumbstruck as her black serpent tattoo came to life, scales shimmering and iridescent. It reared back its head and struck at her, fangs piercing deep into her flesh, but causing her no pain. Heat traveled through her bloodstream from the bite, running up her arm, her neck, and into her brain.

"You are relying on a crutch, yet you are not wounded," Jikoku's voice traveled simultaneously within and without her body, "your power cannot be truly focused by any instrument crafted by man."

Lyra looked down at the harmonica she had been clutching desperately in her hand and loosened her death grip, a sense of calm overtaking the adrenaline in her veins.

"Your music is for soothing weary souls, to bring them dancing in joy toward the light... but for those that would try and stifle the song, you must rebuke them with a voice to bend mountains."

All at once, Jikoku's presence faded away and the world began moving again in a sudden, fervent rush. Lyra turned back to Otake, her eyes burning like embers in their sockets. He sneered at her, bringing his sword in position to attack.

"I will dispose of you like the garbage you are!" he roared, springing forward to strike.

She chuckled softly, gingerly returning her harmonica to her back pocket. Squaring her stance to the oncoming Captain, she smiled.

"You've made a terrible mistake, Mr. Otake."

* * *

A/N: So I'm having a lot of fun with the symbolism of the tattoo here, couldn't help it. I now have a Twitter account for my writing and fanish stuff! - at - DVenenare! Feel free to follow for story updates, ask questions, or just say hi! I love talking to y'all!

Today's episode title comes from _The Red_ by Chevelle.

Thank you once again to the wonderful **Baoh joestar** for your review!


	15. I Ain't No Fortunate One

**All of the Pieces**

[ Episode Fifteen ]

 _I Ain't No Fortunate One_

Wherein something strange is about to go down at Area 51.

* * *

Yusuke's feet shifted as the ground began to vibrate angrily, his attention on his opponents faltering for a split second. There had been plenty of explosions during the chaos so far, but this rumble struck a chord of familiarity in his body. He let loose a fierce Shotgun blast from his fist to clear the space in front of him for a moment, felling near a dozen SDF soldiers in one hit, and giving him a bit of breathing room. His eyes scanned past the battle surrounding him and down the side street that had been clear a moment ago, only to see a group of enemies facing down with Lyra.

"Fuck," he breathed as the heavily armored Captain Otake sprung at her with his sword ready. Yusuke wouldn't be able to get to her in time.

She let loose a scream, not one of fear or surprise, but of pure anger, a torrent of red energy shooting from her mouth like dragon's breath. The sound modulated and amplified, growing like feedback in a massive speaker. The wave of red slammed into the Captain's body, stopping him in mid-air and throwing him back like a ball bouncing off a brick wall. He sailed over the heads of his underlings and landed against the hood of a distant truck, his armored form leaving a crater in the steel.

"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted to his comrade, who spared him a look through the whirlwind of green surrounding him. Kurama nodded, knowing what the former detective was implying, and shifted over to where Yusuke stood, taking on the soldiers that had been closing on him. Yusuke lept free from the battle now that he knew Kurama wouldn't be blindsided, and ran to the unaccompanied psychic.

Lyra turned to him as he slid to a stop at her side, her battle marred face painted with relief. She smiled up at him and he noticed the missing tooth on the far left side of her grin. "Having fun without us?" he asked, amused at her good spirits.

"This asshole wanted to pick a fight with you while you were busy, I told him to wait his turn," she beamed through a mouth full of blood.

Yusuke chuckled at her and shifted a feral smirk to the troops that had arrived with Otake. With the city already in flames, and most of the civilians having fled from the battlefield before they ever arrived, the Mazoku didn't have any need to hold back as he had in their first encounter. He leveled his index finger at the throng of soldiers and let free a blast of his spirit gun, wide enough to fill nearly the entire street. The ball of blue light tore through the group, taking out any who were too slow to leap out of the way.

Once the light faded, Yusuke smiled gleefully at Otake, who had managed to pry himself out of the tangled metal heap and dodge at the last second. The Captain stood on shaky legs, his platinum armor scuffed, but not cracked from Lyra's assault. His hand shot skyward and one of the soldiers that had escaped death blew into a war horn at his signal.

"Retreat!" Otake bellowed.

At once, the SDF scattered in all directions, fleeing the battle scene. Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei lowered their weapons slightly as what was left of their opponents darted away. Hiei debated chasing after some of them but decided against it, none of them important enough in his eyes to chase after specifically.

The scene fell into an uneasy calm. The human soldiers that had managed to survive thanks to Kuwabara's protection held their rifles fast, unsure of the handful of supernatural fighters that remained. A middle-aged man popped up from a hatch on top of one of the Humvees, pointing an accusing finger at Kuwabara, demanding in English that he identify himself.

Kuwabara blinked at him, not understanding the orders being thrown his way, but well aware of the demanding tone. He didn't much appreciate being yelled at after saving their hides and pointed his Spirit Sword up at the man who appeared to be the ranking officer on the scene. "Calm down, you ungrateful old man!" the psychic barked back in Japanese.

One of the foot soldiers, startled by Kuwabara's sudden movement, let loose a quick burst of bullets from his rifle. The small bits of brass hit Kuwabara's battle aura and fell uselessly to his feet, prompting the rest of the soldiers immediately surrounding him to lower their guns in a mix of shock and fear. The power in front of them was something that even the seasoned veterans of the group had never seen the likes of before.

The man on the Humvee balked but quickly shook off the fear in his expression, managing a small bit of composure. "I-I said identify your-s-self!" he stammered, sweat beading at his receding hairline.

Lyra carefully approached them, raising her hands in a pacifying gesture as anxious guns turned to her. "Sir, he doesn't speak English," she offered calmly, smiling at the man. "My name is Lyra, what's yours?"

The man was taken aback by her tranquil introduction, but soon found his voice. "Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Gutierrez, United States Army. Who are you people, and what the _hell_ is going on?!"

Lyra laughed wryly and ran a hand through the mats of blood in her hair. "That's kinda hard to explain, and we don't have much time. We have to get to the next site before–"

"You aren't going anywhere! All of you are being taken into custody!" Samuel shouted, the troops under his command slowly inching toward Lyra, weapons aimed to kill if she moved, though the soldiers couldn't be sure that their guns would even be effective.

In a flash, Hiei was behind the Lieutenant Colonel, his glowing katana pressing delicately into the top layer of skin at his neck while his free hand gripped what was left of the man's hair. The fire demon was well aware that Lyra's newly discovered battle aura would be little help against a barrage of bullets. Samuel ordered his men to halt as a thin line of scarlet trickled down from the blade.

" _Listen_ ," Lyra asserted, her voice taking on an eerie resonance that got everyone's attention, "we're here to stop those people from destroying the world. Their next target is Groom Lake, and I don't have to tell a military man that that's going to stir up some major shit, so why don't you call somebody with a few stars on their shoulders and warn them to get the hell out of there!"

A soft _click_ snapped Lyra out of her impassioned words and she turned to see Kurama closing the communication mirror. The fox placed a hand on her shoulder and tilted his head in an indication that it was time to leave. "Koenma is reopening the portal, we have to get back to the point where we arrived."

She nodded and started off with him as he walked away, neither of them showing any signs of being disturbed by the line of confused men with rifles. Yusuke fell in step beside them, Hiei flickering into existence next to him, leaving Samuel to wonder how the hell the short, scary one managed to move so fast.

"Hey! You can't just leave!" the man yelled after the five strange figures as they walked away.

"I suggest you take the lady's advice, Mr. Gutierrez," Kurama called over his shoulder in English, his golden eyes cutting deeper into the man than Hiei's blade had. He recoiled and ducked back down into his Humvee, quickly clamoring for the radio.

Yusuke paused, stepping in front of Lyra, offering his back. She wondered for a moment if she should try running with them, but decided that testing her limits would be better suited for a different time, and hopped on. The group sped away, bounding through car-littered streets and back to Jackson Square, where the black portal awaited them. A quick flick of Kuwabara's sword activated it, and they jumped through without hesitation. Within moments, they stood in Genkai's courtyard once again.

Koenma stood hunched, his body showing signs of fatigue from his magical efforts. Another inactive portal stood, a few short feet from the first, one that would take them to the next point of attack. The young god paled when he spotted Lyra, her neck bruised, and blood crusted around her hairline. "I'll get Yukina," he offered, concern evident in his voice.

Lyra smiled at him, shaking her head. "No time. I have a feeling it looks a lot worse than it is," she said with a wink.

Koenma pursed his lips and remained silent; she was right about the constraint of time, every second counted now with the loss of Jikoku. It disturbed him to see any of his team injured, however, more so than he had ever spoken aloud.

The crackle of Kuwabara's dimension sword disturbed the gentle chirping of birds that filled the courtyard. He slashed down into the void of the portal, bringing it to swirling life. "Geez," he grunted, his eyes drooping in exhaustion, "this thing is draining my energy quick."

Yusuke slapped him on the back as he marched up to the portal first. "Good thing it's our last stop for the day, then!" he proclaimed before diving head first into the distortion in space-time.

"Yeah, good thing..." Kuwabara muttered, sparing a concerned glance at his now empty palms before following his friends into the portal.

When they arrived on the other side they were greeted by a flaming hunk of metal careening toward the ground where they stood. A helicopter, burnt and twisted into a nearly unrecognizable lump, crashed into the sandy mountainside by the portal, giving them only a split second to dive out of the way. Lyra got the speed test she had wanted, but her reaction time still failed her, her only saving grace coming from Kurama tackling her out of the way.

As everyone rolled to a stop in the dry Nevada soil, the sounds of battle grabbed their attention, all of them leaping quickly to their feet. In the distance, fires burned and energy blasts flew as the invading SDF swarmed like a plague of locusts toward the salt flats in the valley below. The Groom Lake military base sat between them and their target, the roar of fighter jets and helicopters filling the skies as humans fought back desperately against the horde.

"Koenma wasn't kidding about their numbers," Yusuke sighed, his normal enthusiasm for a fight tempered by the reality before him. He turned to Lyra, his eyes shaded with cold resolve. "You need to stay back, and for real this time."

She huffed and straightened her posture to the Mazoku. "I'm getting stronger, I can fight!"

"You are getting stronger, but that attack you hit Otake with was still no higher than B-class. These guys are A-class, every one of them. You might be able to fend off one or two with some quick thinking and luck, but if you get swarmed, you're dead," he said, firmly grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her down to sit under a rocky outcropping. "We'll be lucky to hold out against so many as it is, we can't watch out for you. Stay back until we give you a signal."

Yusuke knew he sounded like an asshole, but it was something that needed to be done for everyone's safety. She understood, albeit begrudgingly, and nodded. "I'll stay right here, promise," she said in quiet resignation, bringing her energy levels down to hide her aura. She had learned the lesson quite well that hiding physically was not enough.

"Let's go," Hiei grunted, his red and black eyes glinting in the rusty desert sunset.

The boys sprinted off, making their way to the battlefield at top speed. They instinctively split off, Kuwabara and Yusuke heading to the west of the SDF swarm, while Kurama and Hiei took the east side, planning to herd the front line into a tighter bottleneck. When Kuwabara got into position he held out an expectant hand, calling on his spirit sword. His face twisted in confusion when his trusty weapon refused to appear.

"Shit!"

He was caught in the tidal wave of oncoming opponents, his fists laced with only a fraction of his normal reiki levels as he struggled to keep them at bay. Yusuke noticed his friend's struggle and sprung to his side immediately, unleashing two shotgun blasts back to back. The hole made by his shotgun quickly filled in with new faces, a torrent of energy lashing out from their various attacks. Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara by the collar of his jacket and yanked him back.

"What's the deal?!" the Mazoku barked.

The psychic stammered for a moment, glaring at his hands, trying to will his sword to materialize. "I don't have any reiki!"

"SON OF A BITCH!" Yusuke roared, firing his Spirit Gun through the mass of SDF. An angry swath cut from one side of the battlefield to the other, tearing a twenty-foot-wide ravine through the desert floor.

Kuwabara paled at the display. He had seen plenty of impressive feats from the former spirit detective, but that one had to take the record for the most targets he'd taken out at once. Kuwabara ran a hand through his ginger pompadour in frustration. He had felt his energy levels draining after using the dimension sword for the third time in only a few hours, but before coming through the portal, he was sure he still had the reiki to stay in the fight.

 _'Something's not right,'_ he thought, his nails scratching anxiously over his scalp, _'something is...'_

His fingers hit a raised ridge of skin at the base of his skull, a perfect X-shaped scar in his neck from where the Tengu had cut him several days before. The scar was cold to the touch, standing out in strange relief to the adrenaline-fueled heat radiating from the rest of his body. He felt it pulse out of time with his heartbeat and his eyes widened in shock.

Whatever he had been poisoned with was still in effect, and he now stood helpless in a war zone.

* * *

 **[A/N]** My internet has been in SHAMBLES for about a week now, I can stay connected for a grand total of two minutes before getting kicked. I had to hop onto a friend's hotspot to get this posted. A very Merry Yule to you, my dear readers! Thank you so much for the support I have received so far. I love you all!

The title for episode fifteen comes from _Fortunate Son_ by Creedence Clearwater Revival.


	16. So Close, No Matter How Far

.

 **All of the Pieces**

[Episode Sixteen]

 _So Close, No Matter How Far_

Wherein the stakes are high.

* * *

Kurama jumped back as one of his monstrous plants tore through the ground, a behemoth of fangs and thorns rising up through the sand and ripping into the front lines. He elevated himself on a boulder so he could see over the wave of soldiers, scanning for his comrades on the opposite side of the line. His golden eyes showed him a sea of glowing red dots, the weakest points of his opponents. One person, however, stood out, his entire body glowing as one weakness.

 _'Kuwabara...'_ he recognized his friend on the other side of the battlefield, Yusuke close by and moving frantically to cover the human, unable to keep up as the side they were supposed to be herding ran wild. Without two groups flanking the enemy, they had no hope of controlling their movements, or slowing them down.

A line of military helicopters flew over the swarm, firing missiles into the invaders. The heavy firepower did little to slow down the Special Defense Force, many of them suffering little more damage than being knocked off their feet. Too many of them were slipping past, and were already closing in on the salt flat. Kurama cursed, the electricity arcing behind his eyes intensifying both his frustration and resolve.

(Hiei!) the fox sent a telepathic shout to the shadowy blur that hacked and burned its way through bodies, (change of plan. Get him out!)

Hiei paused from his killing spree for a moment and jumped to Kurama's side. Once he was elevated and able to see the flow of troops slipping by the Mazoku and the incapacitated human, he understood. He lept from the rock and into the sea of soldiers, landing on the shoulder of one man and springing forward, using the SDF as stepping stones to cross the divide. His light feet did not betray him, a small tingle of satisfaction rising in his chest as he managed to step on a few faces along the way. In no time he was at Yusuke's side, his sword clearing a swath of opponents and giving them an inch of breathing room.

"Nice crowd surfing," Yusuke smirked.

"Hn, keep moving, I've got the oaf," Hiei grumbled.

The Mazoku nodded, his friend now in capable hands, and sprinted away to head off the line. Fudo's katana pulsed in Hiei's hand, glowing with the light of the crescent moon rising overhead. He instinctively headed its call, setting the tip of the blade in the sand. The ground in front of him erupted in fountains of flame, forming a glowing wall several yards deep and giving them the space they needed to make an escape.

"Go," Hiei urged, grabbing Kuwabara by the sleeve and jerking him away from the battlefield as fast as his human legs could carry him.

Kuwabara reluctantly fled; despite his desire to fight, he knew that until he could summon his sword again he was nothing more than a liability. His hands clenched in anger as he ran, knuckles popping against the strain of his building outrage. To be escorted away from the battle, by Hiei no less, felt like the coward's way out. "DAMNIT!" he growled through panting breaths and slid to a stop, turning back to face the chaos behind them.

Hiei stopped immediately and rounded on Kuwabara, driving a single punch into the human's gut with enough force to send him to his knees, coughing violently.

"W-what the hell asshole?!" Kuwabara wheezed.

"Stop throwing a tantrum and run like I told you to," the fire demon hissed.

"I refuse to be useless!" the psychic spat back, springing to his feet, preparing to fight his way through his own comrade if necessary.

"Then don't make us carry your dead body back to Yukina!" Hiei shouted, his red irises burning hot against a pool of black. He lifted his katana and pressed the point against the human's chest with just enough controlled pressure to crack the button of his jacket. "Fall back, figure out what's wrong, fix it, and get back into the fight!"

Kuwabara's shoulders dropped and he sighed, pressing his finger into the flat of the sword at his chest and pushing it away. If a hothead like Hiei was telling him to calm down, it was a warning worth heeding. He had to clear his head, think, and figure out how to get his energy back. If it was a poison, surely there was a way to counteract it...

"Oh no," Kuwabara breathed, sudden realization gripping him, "the Tengu's poison is doing this somehow. If it's affecting me, then..."

* * *

Sand and pebbles pelted Lyra's skin as a blast of green energy erupted in front of her, throwing her back against the stone crevice she had been hiding in. She rubbed the dust from her face and glared at the tall, shrouded figure standing before her, forcing herself to her feet.

"You have terrible aim if you can't hit a person who's standing still," she bit.

Captain Otake threw open his cloak, the Reikai magic that had made him undetectable fading away as he moved forward to loom over the woman. "I wouldn't want to kill you too quickly and let that soul of yours escape," he avowed. "If I consume it, I'll be more than powerful enough to destroy the Mazoku!"

"Really? Isn't your boss gonna get mad at you for taking scraps from his dinner table?" Lyra scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. Internally, she was terrified, and goading the man that was poised to kill her probably wasn't wise, but she had already observed that the Captain didn't exactly make the wisest tactical decisions when emotion got the better of him. Sarcasm would get her farther than an all out assault.

"Enma will never miss one tiny soul, especially if I return with the glory of killing that Mazoku!" Otake shouted, his face beginning to twist into a mask of anger that didn't seem to fit the features that had been finely crafted into stoicism over a few centuries.

Lyra carefully scanned the edges of stone jutting up at her sides; too tall to vault over quickly. She didn't have the speed or agility of the boys, and her performance in high-school track had been mediocre at best. Her only exit was blocked by a platinum-clad tank of a man. She had to buy time to think, and eliciting a good old-fashioned bad guy monologue was her best bet. "You know, you really seem to have a boner for Yusuke," she drawled, trying to square her shoulders as she fought back a tremble, "did he make a fool of you or something?"

Otake's hand shot out in his sudden rage, thick fingers wrapping around the woman's throat and lifting her into the air. Her hands clung to the cold metal of his gauntlet, trying and failing to relieve some of the pressure. She attempted a scream but it came out as a gargling squeak, her reiki completely ignoring her instinctive call. She flailed her legs and tried again, digging deeper than before, but try as she might, the well of power in her gut refused to answer.

The Captain smiled at the confusion in her eyes. "Having trouble with your powers? The Tengu are talented poison crafters, disgusting demons though they may be," he chuckled as he walked forward and pressed Lyra's back against the stone, easing his grip enough for her to breathe. "The _antidote_ merely covered up the symptoms, acting as a time-release catalyst. Humans are so fragile against demonic poisons, they have a tendency to die before the intended effect takes hold."

"That doesn't make any sense," she rasped, her hand dropping to the wall behind her. The craggy desert stone released a clod of sand that broke apart easily in her fingers. "Why not just kill us and get us out of your hair?"

"Oh, this wasn't _our_ plan," he said simply, "we would never dirty ourselves by allying with Tengu. I will, however, make good use of this fortuitous result."

"That makes no damn sense, but..." Lyra hummed appreciatively, "I'm really glad you love the sound of your own voice."

Captain Otake tilted his head in askance at the woman's odd tone, and he was answered with a handful of sand in his eyes. He released her with a growl and doubled over, his hands pawing at his face as he struggled to regain his vision. Lyra took her opening and leap-frogged over his bent form and ran from the confines of the outcropping, bolting for the open hilltop. Cacti clawed at the hems of the jeans Shizuru had loaned her as she fumbled through the dark desert, but she did not slow to their stings as she sprinted at top speed.

If she had learned anything in her previous fight, it was that no matter how strong the soldier's bodies, their eyes were still as vulnerable as her own. It wouldn't be long before he would recover and close the distance, however. She needed a second stage for her plan.

"Lyra!" Kuwabara's distinctive voice called out through the darkness, settling on her ears as if it were the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Kazu!" his name sprang from her lips in joyous relief as she passed the crest of the hill and began sliding down the moonlit slope. A few yards below, the psychic's tall frame came into view, accompanied by a set of blazing red eyes. "Hiei!"

Kuwabara's arms reached out and braced her as she slid into him, which she redirected into a full-blown hug in her excitement. "Are you alright?" he asked as she buried her face into the comfort of his jacket.

"Kinda tired of getting choked, but yeah," she smiled up at him.

"Who's after you?" Hiei grunted as he unsheathed his katana.

"Otake. My powers are gone, all I could do is buy time," Lyra sighed, feeling about as useful as an air conditioner in the north pole.

On cue, the Captain came over the hilltop, his dusty face tear-streaked and eyes bloodshot from the grit. Hiei smirked, one hungry canine peeking over his lip. "You fight dirty, woman," he said as he angled his sword at the ready.

"Survival isn't clean," she sniffed, unsure of whether she had just been insulted or not.

Otake came barreling down the hillside, his broadsword shining bright as he charged. Hiei bent his knees and sprung forward, practically flying up to meet him. They exchanged strikes, Hiei darting away and reengaging from all angles like a swarm of wasps. The Captain struggled to keep up, barely quick enough to block each time before the shadow dissipated again. He was being circled, toyed with, and his fury grew with each clashing of swords.

"DAMN YOU!" Otake howled, his body erupting with a green blast that shot out from all sides of him.

Hiei dodged at the last second, the very tip of his hair singing against the light. His eye twitched at the insult, flames bursting from his katana. He felt the fires of Fudo burning hot from the blade and lept toward the Captain with greater speed than before. Time seemed to slow as his steel made contact with the armor, the heat piercing through it with ease, and onto flesh. A blaze erupted from within Otake's breastplate, bursting out from every opening in the gleaming platinum. The Captain wailed and dropped to his knees, pain and a power that he had never felt before coursing through the wound in his gut.

"N-no..." Otake stuttered as his sword dropped into the sand. His arms crossed over his midsection as he took in a shuddering breath, the heat of the fire becoming the very blood in his veins. His mind swam, bright flashes of light burning into his vision, even as he squeezed his lids shut.

Hiei backed away from the Captain, his brow knitting in confusion at the blade in his hands. That fire should have burned the man's skin as it had poured from his armor, but he remained unharmed save for the shallow slash in his stomach. Fudo's fire had not consumed as Makai flame would have.

"What..." Otake breathed heavily. His heart punched against his rib cage, and his eyes shot open in realization. This was the first time his heart had beaten in... how long had it been? The heat continued to circulate throughout his body, running its course through every last cell. A darkness lifted from his vision, his eyes focusing when he hadn't even known they were blurred.

A loud burst sounded in the distance, followed by a blinding flash that turned the night into day. The salt flats in the valley below began to crumble, collapsing into a massive sinkhole as sparkling diamonds shot outward across the desert. Kuwabara cursed as his heart told him exactly what had happened, Yusuke and Kurama hadn't been enough to hold back the army on their own. The final god had been destroyed.

"Jizou... what have we done..." Otake choked out, barely above a whisper.

Lyra turned away from the ruins of the battlefield and shot the Captain a tear-filled glare. Her feet moved of their own accord and marched her straight to his crumpled body, ignoring the protests of Kuwabara as he shouted after her not to get close. She dropped to her knees and violently yanked the edges of his pauldrons, forcing him to look her in the eye. Hiei was at her side in a blink, ready to behead the man if he moved.

"What do you mean, ' _what have we done?!_ ' You know exactly what you did–what you have been doing! You've been killing humans, demons, gods... your men KILLED MY FAMILY!" she screamed as her fingers dug into his hair and pulled his face nose to nose with her own. "You don't get to play innocent, you don't get that right!"

The Captain knelt silently as she stared into his soul, they gray of her eyes hardened into a cold steel that rivaled the sharpness of any blade. Her breath heaved in anger as she held him there, forcing him to look at the painful reality of where he was.

"You are right, a claim of innocence is far beyond my grasp," Otake lamented as he placed a hand on Lyra's wrist to ease her death grip. "I willingly followed my King and allowed myself to get caught up in all of this. I could not recognize the defilement within me until Fudo's flame burned it away. All of it just in time to see the soul of Jizou scatter to the wind; one of the greatest saints of Reikai. I have truly become a monster..."

Lyra shuddered and jerked her hand away from the Captain, her skin crawling at his touch. "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you for willingly following your path?" she hissed as she backed away from him, mercy finding no foothold in her features.

Otake shook his head and sighed, his hands dropping to his knees. "No, but allow me to help you. To make a small effort against the weight of karma on my heart," he said earnestly. "The poison within you and Kuwabara, you must reverse it quickly. It's called the Tears of Twenty-Four Hells, and it will–"

Captain Otake's words were halted as a spear fell from the sky and impaled through his back, pinning him to the desert floor. Blood gurgled up from his throat as he attempted to push himself up, but the small remaining spark of life in his limbs failed him as he let out his last breath into the sand.

* * *

 **[A/N]** Hey loves! It's been nearly a year since I updated, and I apologize. PROFUSELY. I had a lot of health problems pop up over the last year that sort of sent me into a tailspin of depression. I've had a lot of help digging myself out, and part of that process is getting back into an activity I love: writing! I almost started another story because it took me a lot of reading and re-reading to get back into the mindset for this story, but I don't want to leave my lovely boys and our girl Lyra hanging. This episode was very hard to write but once I finished it, I felt so good! Next episode is already in progress~!

Title for episode sixteen comes from Nothing Else Matters by Metallica (I've already used a title from this song, but... Metallica).


	17. Stealing People's Mail

.

 **All of the Pieces**

[Episode Seventeen]

 _Stealing People's Mail_

Wherein Hiei Naruto-runs into Area 51.

* * *

Hiei sprung skyward as heavy wing beats betrayed the location of the Tengu assassin overhead, but it had already made too much distance for him to reach. The beast had vanished into the depths of the dark sky, shrouded in a cloak of Reikai magic that blocked the sight of the Jagan. When his feet touched back down in the desert sand he snarled, a frustration that mirrored in Kuwabara's tired features.

"Every time we start to get some information Enma gets in the way!" the psychic fumed, his hands ruffling through his curls in exasperation.

Lyra hadn't moved, still gaping blankly at the impaled body of the man who had been speaking moments before. The spear held him in a lifeless heap of platinum and blood, his head turned to the side and dead eyes still open. She shuffled forward, compelled by a mix of emotions that she couldn't untangle, and gently closed his eyelids with her hand.

"I don't think this was Enma's doing," she said in a whisper, morbidly mesmerized by the stark contrast of red against Otake's shining armor. It reminded her of the blood that had stained her fingers from the blond soldier in New Orleans; a fresh twist of nausea rolling in her gut at the memory.

Hiei marched up to the woman, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to her feet away from the body that she was staring at all too intently. He hardened his eyes, forcing her to focus on him and clear the static in her mind. "What did he tell you?" he asked, sharp and insistent.

By the way he had grabbed her, Lyra had half-expected Hiei to condemn her for something, but there was no accusation in his tone. She sighed and shook her head, her shoulders wound tight with stress. "I'm not sure what any of it meant... Otake seemed to know exactly how the poison worked, but he claimed that 'they' would never ally with Tengu. It sounded like he was speaking for himself and Enma, but I can't be sure."

"It would track with Enma's history of distrusting demons and seeing them as inferior," Kurama's voice chimed in.

Lyra's heart skipped a beat at the sudden new arrival; she hadn't heard a single footfall approaching, but Kurama and Yusuke were now standing mere feet away. It had become easy to forget how silently her demon friends could be, every step like a panther prowling in the shadows. Even Yusuke, whose personality was louder than an air horn, moved with the efficiency of a predator without even thinking. Without her spirit energy, it made her feel very much like a mouse dropped in a python enclosure.

"So who else is screwing with us if the Tengu aren't working for King Douche?" Yusuke huffed, two defeats in a row sitting like a bitter pill in the back of his throat.

No one had an answer. The scraps of information fed to them over the last several days hardly added up to a full plate, and any speculation they could muster had no solid footing.

"This is stupid!" Kuwabara shouted when the silence became too much, long legs punting an innocent rock across the sand. "Why can't these assholes just be straightforward about something for once?! All of this scheming, underhanded bull–" he paused in his rant when he felt the eyes of his demon companions all fall on him. "What?"

Yusuke tilted his head like he was expecting Kuwabara to do something, but when he didn't react the Mazoku sighed and reached for the human's pants.

"Woah, hey!" Kuwabara squeaked, brows disappearing into his hairline.

"Don't get too excited now," Yusuke muttered as he reached into Kuwabara's pocket, pulling out the communicator. It had been chirping like a happy little bird, but the human's lack of spiritual awareness had made him completely oblivious to the call. "Hey Ko– oh, Jin. What's up?" he asked as a familiar mop of red bobbed on screen.

"You guys need to find a way to Russia, and quick. Something out here by the blast site is having a right ol' temper tantrum! People are going a bit mad, starting fires and wrecking the place," Jin said, without so much as a breath between his words.

Yusuke shook his head, giving his brain a second to process everything. "Okay, I'll call Koenma and have him brew up another portal."

"No luck there, I already asked him and he's tapped. His energy isn't regenerating quick enough since he's cut off from Reikai. I could come pluck you up one at a time, but that would be right inefficient, I'd say." A rustling sound rattled over the communicator, followed by a whispered squabble. "I have to go help Touya, another riot's broke out. Put some wind in your sails and get out here!"

The line went dead and Yusuke glared at the tiny mirror that now reflected only his face. He grumbled in annoyance at the device and tossed it to Kurama. "How the _hell_ are we supposed to get to Russia without a portal?"

Lyra bit her lip. She had not been able to hear Jin's side of the conversation, but it was easy to deduce that things weren't going well in Siberia. She looked on to the battle-scarred salt flats and the compound where helicopters and soldiers continued to scramble in the confusion. The suggestion burning on her tongue was the exact opposite of what her rational human mind would ever concoct, but her mouth opened before she could stop herself. "Um... we are next to an airbase. Why not fly?"

Kurama smiled; a sly, and honestly quite terrifying expression for anyone who knew him. "You wouldn't be _suggesting_ that we raid one of your own country's bases and steal a top secret military aircraft," he leaned into her with a lilt of humor in his voice, "would you?"

If his intention had been to get her to relax, it worked. Lyra found herself chuckling at the fox's impish tone, her eyes glittering with feigned innocence. "I am merely _suggesting_ that, while Kazuma and I are a bit vulnerable at the moment, the rest of you could punch through a tank," she explained, looking thoughtful for a moment. "There honestly isn't shit they could do to stop us."

Hiei was already gone before anyone could look up.

"Oh shit!" Yusuke squawked, sprinting after the black blur making a beeline for the base.

* * *

"Stop right there!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes as he kicked the mangled hangar door to the side, very much unamused to have guns pointed in his face for the umpteenth time in one day. He walked calmly up to the soldier standing point, not even blinking when the young man fired a burst from his weapon at his chest. Bullets clinked harmlessly to the ground and the demon snatched the rifle away, tossing it over his shoulder like a child's toy.

"These guys are a broken record, you'd think they'd try somethin' new," he huffed and picked at his teeth in boredom.

The rest of the Mazoku's friends followed through the busted door into the dark hangar, battle auras glowing from those that still had their powers, setting an eerie light in the room. The human soldiers that hadn't fled all lowered their weapons and backed away, collectively deciding that they didn't get paid enough to deal with this bullshit.

"Alright, Kuwabara, pick one of these things you think you can fly," Yusuke huffed, gesturing to the dozen or so aircraft that sat in the shadows.

Kuwabara leveled Yusuke with a blank stare. "And what the hell makes you think I can fly any of them?"

"You know about computers," he replied, miming typing on a keyboard, "these all have computer junk in them."

"I can't fly a C-130 with a DOS prompt, you idiot!" Kuwabara screeched, swatting the back of Yusuke's head.

Before the two boys could pounce on each other in a full-out brawl, the overhead lights in the hangar switched on, flooding the room with a sterile brightness. The group looked upward at the sounds of footsteps on the metal catwalk above them to be greeted by a tall, slender man in a suit, surrounded by soldiers in full body armor and helmets. He peered down his hawkish nose at the supernatural beings invading the compound and straightened the bulky headphones that sat over his ears. He raised his hand as a silent signal and the room filled with a horrible buzzing sound.

The three demons winced at the awful noise, but were largely unaffected. Kuwabara and Lyra, however, dropped like rocks, their hands pressed tightly against their ears as they felt like their brains might begin to leak out at any moment. Nausea overtook them as they squirmed on the floor, their bodies refusing any order other than to curl up in defense against the agony.

Kurama felt every nerve in his body light up with electricity, and before even Hiei could make a move, the fox was already on the catwalk behind the man in the suit. Vines laden with razor-sharp thorns curled around the man's entire body, one pointed tendril poised like a cobra to strike through his cornea. The soldiers surrounding them moved to defend, but the entire force had already been rendered motionless by green bonds laced through their armor.

Kurama yanked the protective headphones off of the man, and whatever had been making the noxious sound quickly shut off. The fox leaned close to the man's ear and the vines pulled a bit tighter, drawing a few thin lines of blood across his body. "You had best pray to whatever god you believe in that what you just did didn't damage my friends," he whispered.

"So you do speak English," the man said, trying as hard as he could to remain stoic, "I was beginning to wonder if I would need an interpreter for negotiations after watching the security footage."

"There will be no negotiations," the fox said dryly.

"While the frequency we used will not cause any lasting damage to your _friends_ , it did reveal which of you are vulnerable," the man informed.

Kurama's eyes narrowed and he looked down to see Kuwabara and Lyra sitting stock-still on the floor as dozens of laser sights trained on heir heads from all directions. He could see the gears turning as Hiei and Yusuke tried to determine if they would be fast enough to keep them from being hit, but there were too many guns pointed from too many directions to be sure of saving both of them, especially not knowing what other tricks they might have in this high-tech facility.

The vines tightened violently around the man's throat at the sudden anger in Kurama's gut, causing him to sputter as his air supply was cut off completely.

"Kurama," Lyra called up, careful not to make sudden movements as she stood, "that is Albert Nimziki, the Secretary of Defense. I'm sure he can be reasoned with." Her spiritual awareness might have been shut off, but she could still feel the threat of a massacre hanging in the air. Someone had to diffuse the bomb before it went off, and none of the boys seemed to be in gracious moods.

The vines loosened slightly, allowing a bit of color to return to Nimziki's face. "W-we have no interest in a battle with you," he coughed.

"There would be no battle if you kill them, only a slaughter, and I'd hope you are wise enough to realize it," Kurama hissed.

The Secretary wilted back from the look in the demon's eyes, as far as his bonds would allow, anyway. He _did_ realize it. "I watched the battlefield from the bunker. I have no idea what is going on, but I do know that the five of you were not fighting alongside the invading force. I received word from a commanding officer on the ground in New Orleans a short while ago, and I can only assume that you are the... um... 'weirdos' he was speaking of."

"The genuine article," Lyra smiled despite the snipers just waiting for the signal to end her life, her missing tooth and the dried blood on her face making her attempt at diplomacy look a tad bit deranged.

"Look, I know that we don't have the weaponry necessary to fight you, or whatever that was outside... but my job is to protect this country, and this facility, by any means necessary," Nimziki sighed, the weight of the day's chaos fully settling into his voice.

Kurama's vines untangled from the man, finally giving him the freedom to let loose the shudder his body had been holding on to. "We aren't here to harm anyone, or compromise whatever secrets you have hiding in here. The real threat to you are the beings that seized this place, and they are a threat to all nations," the fox explained carefully, "We are trying to stop them, and we have to get to Russia to do so."

The Secretary of Defense rubbed the bruises on his neck and looked down upon the hangar full of aircraft that the strange crew had fought their way in to. "So... you were going to steal one of these and fly to Russia?"

"Borrow without asking, hopefully to return unscathed," Lyra supplied innocently. She stepped forward carefully and held out her arms in a show of peace. "You know, it would help us out a lot if you could have one of your badass pilots give us a ride..."

Nimziki stared down at the girl, not sure whether to laugh or scream at the absurdity of what was happening. "You broke into Area 51, and now you're going to ask for a ride?"

"Is that a problem?" Kurama asked, a mix of honey and poison in his words.

* * *

 **[A/N]** So I wrote the first chapter of the gang all going to Groom Lake last year before the derpy Area 51 raid meme became a reality, but I absolutely couldn't refuse the opportunity to write our favorite matchstick giving props. I make no apologies. Not one.

Thanks to **OddMawd** for their reviews! And thank you all lovely readers for tuning in!

Today's episode title comes from _Stealing People's Mail_ by Dead Kennedys.


	18. Moanin' in the Moonlight

.

 **All of the Pieces**

[Episode Eighteen]

 _Moanin' in the Moonlight_

Wherein turbulence is not just a metaphor.

* * *

Secretary Nimziki looked down at the stern, dark eyes of Major Matapang. He had heard that the hard-nosed Major was one of the toughest Air Force Officers stationed at Groom Lake; earning the nickname of Wrecking Ball in more ways than one.

"All of your commanding officers recommend you very highly, Major," the Secretary hummed, closing the manila folder containing the Major's service record.

"Because _they_ don't want to deal with the freaky kids," Matapang grunted as he paused the security camera footage playing on the computer screen in front of him. First, an all out siege on one of the most heavily guarded military bases in the US by an unknown enemy, then, a group of twenty-somethings waltz through a hail of bullets into a hangar holding the most advanced prototype aircraft in the world and ask for a ride. Matapang was not one to shy from a challenge, but this was beyond sanity.

"Perhaps so, but your record doesn't lie. Though their praise may be self-serving, it is not misplaced," Nimziki concluded, ignoring the Major's informality. He couldn't blame the guy for calling a spade a spade, not after the events that had unfolded over the last few hours.

"My job is the same as yours, Major;" the Secretary began, "to defend this country. We have been attacked twice now in one night, by an enemy that we currently have no means to fight against. I couldn't begin to explain who or what they are, but I do know that they are intentionally stirring up tension between nuclear superpowers around the world. These... _freaky kids_ , as you call them, might be our only solution to stopping mutually assured destruction from becoming a very real scenario."

Matapang stared at the paused footage for a moment; a perfectly timed still of a monstrous venus fly-trap snatching an M16 from a soldier and apparently _eating_ it. "And you want me to sit in a plane with these walking weapons of mass destruction for 15 hours, fly them into hostile airspace where none of our conventional weaponry is effective, and make sure they don't cause an international incident that will trigger a nuclear apocalypse?"

"Yes," Nimziki replied simply.

"Fuck me."

* * *

"I am not getting into that flying garbage can," Hiei spat.

"C'mon man, this is top of the line technology," Kuwabara sighed from the ramp of the C-130 as everyone shuffled onboard.

The fire demon scowled, crossing his arms in defiance. "Top of the line by human standards is still trash."

"You can fly around on dragons no problem, but you're scared of an airplane?" Yusuke taunted loudly, quite intentionally letting his voice echo in the hangar. Never mind that only his small group could understand Japanese.

Hiei's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he would not allow himself to be coerced by such a simple appeal to pride. Not by the Mazoku, of all people.

Kurama patted Hiei's shoulder as he passed to board the plane, turning to him with a sympathetic smile. "Not to worry, Hiei. Though I highly doubt that timing will allow us to return for you before we confront Enma... Would you like for me to bring you a finger, perhaps, as a consolation prize?"

Hiei growled at the fox's audacity, but stood firm; he was _not_ getting on that lumbering metal sky turd. Just as he spun on his heel to walk away, a small, blue flower sprouted on his shoulder where Kurama had touched him. Before he could curse his luck, the plant released a tiny cloud of pollen. Hiei was asleep before he even hit the floor.

Lyra frowned as Kurama knelt down and hoisted the peacefully slumbering fire demon onto his shoulder. "He's going to be pissed when he wakes up," she warned.

"He would be even more upset to miss the fight," Kurama assured as he carried his cargo on board. They didn't have time to waste on trying to convince the stubborn demon, and leaving an angry Hiei behind in a base full of humans and experimental weaponry was not the best of options.

Lyra shook her head and made her way into the plane. She was stopped as soon as she stepped inside by a short, but muscular man in a flight suit. He looked quite a bit more weathered than the two younger soldiers that had already took their places in the cockpit, and while her knowledge of military regalia was rather thin, it was obvious by how he carried himself that this man was higher rank.

"You, you're one of the ones that speaks English, right?" he asked with a voice that sounded like a bass drum being dragged across a gravel driveway.

"Yup, me and Kurama over there," she replied, gesturing to the fox as he carefully belted Hiei into a seat.

The Major glanced at the redhead and then back to Lyra, an uneasy look on his face. "You don't grow mutant monster plants out of you, do you?"

Lyra blinked. "Not last time I checked, no."

"Good, you're sitting with me. I want answers," he grunted and lead her by the arm to a seat near the front. "Major Antonio Matapang, and you are?"

"Probably just as confused as you are, but I will try to help," Lyra laughed as she buckled in next to the Major. He seemed far from amused by her snark, and she sighed. This was going to be a long flight.

* * *

He didn't understand any of it. Lyra's explanation of demons, gods, psychics, and spiritual energy made no sense, but the Major had appreciated her efforts none the less. She had seemed more than a little confused herself, and he wondered how this young woman just seemed to be going along with it as if it weren't absolutely insane. Major Matapang stared at his knuckles, swollen from over two decades of rigorous Kali training and an unmatched dedication to his military career. He understood violence, but his brand of violence was absolutely useless in this new situation.

"How do you handle it?" Matapang asked after a good half-hour of silence, feeling out of place asking such a question of someone more than ten years his younger.

Lyra pulled her harmonica from her lips, ending the slow song she had absently begun to play. She had no spiritual energy to pour into her music, but the power of the notes themselves seemed enough to bring an air of calm over the tensions within the plane. Yusuke and Kuwabara were out cold, and Hiei, thankfully, remained unconscious. "Handle what?"

"Being around... _people_ ," he stumbled over the word as he looked around at the super-charged beings that he was escorting into a war zone, "that have so much power. I know you said that you have power, too, but from what I saw on that security footage, any one of those demons could kill all of us with a pinky finger."

"They wouldn't, though, they are trying to save the world," Lyra sighed, afraid that her three hour explanation had done nothing to soothe the Major's fears about being around the boys.

"You've already convinced me of that," he assured. "That isn't what I'm asking."

She shifted in her seat to face the Major, examining his hard-set jaw and uncomfortable posture. "What _are_ you asking, Antonio?" she asked, grinning as he twitched a little at being addressed so informally.

"You stand next to them with no fear, and hold yourself with the pride of an equal–"

"Ah, I get it now," Lyra interrupted and slapped Matapang on the arm. "You're used to being the strongest, scariest guy in the room no matter where you go. Now you're not, and you don't know how to deal with it."

The Major flinched. "Jesus, you sound like my ex-wife."

Lyra's bark of laughter was loud enough to startle Kuwabara out of his cat nap, but not quite enough to rouse Yusuke from the simulated death he was currently practicing. Kurama stifled his chuckle, as that would have ruined the illusion that he hadn't been listening to the entire conversation.

"Major, every day is an orchestral performance," she said, doing her best impersonation of her Granny Euna's sagely voice, "some days you get to be first chair violin, and other days you are the triangle player. No matter the instrument you're dealt from one day to the next, you get off your ass and you play with all of your heart, or else the song will be incomplete. Make sense?"

Matapang stared at the musician with a raised eyebrow for a moment before smirking. "Was that supposed to be inspirational?"

Lyra huffed and crossed her arms, slouching back into her seat. "Well, I could have just told you to grow a pair, but I was trying to be tactful."

"Now there's a metaphor I can understand," the Major smiled, a true smile that anyone who knew him well would claim was rare. He relaxed his shoulders and settled back into his seat, glancing down at the harmonica resting in Lyra's lap. "Do you know anything by Howlin' Wolf?"

Lyra held an offended hand to her chest, but her smile was bright. "Do I look like an amateur to you?"

"Certainly not," Matapang chuckled.

The opening chords to Smokestack Lightning brought the air to life, and the Major closed his eyes to get lost in the music. The comfort of old memories was short-lived, however; Matapang rising to his feet as the plane began to rumble from unexpected turbulence. They weren't due to land for another half-hour, at least. "Status, Lieutenant," he shouted up to the open cockpit as the pilot and navigator scrambled to adjust.

"We've hit a strong updraft, sir... this storm front... it wasn't on the radar," the pilot huffed as he stabilized.

"Thermal sensors are indicating a large heat signature on the ground, this is no storm system, that's smoke!" the navigator corrected.

"What the hell is on fire down there?" Matapang asked as he squinted through a port window, struggling to see through the dark skies.

"By these readings... about half of the Eastern Siberian Taiga, sir," the navigator said, her voice grim.

Matapang grunted and marched up to the cockpit, gripping the pilot's chair as the plane rumbled again. "How did we not pick this up on satellite before we got here, Grayson?" he demanded.

"It must have just started, sir," Grayson replied, not entirely sure of his own words.

"Forest fires don't spread that fast!" Matapang chided.

"Not naturally," Kurama ventured as he appeared soundlessly behind the Major to peer through the windshield. Matapang eyed the fox warily, as he had been on and off throughout the entire 15 hour flight. Of the _freaky kids_ on board, the redhead was the most unnerving to him, from his calculated body language to his ever-alert eyes.

Yusuke groaned and popped his head up from the makeshift hammock he had fashioned out of cargo nets. "You guys care to share with the rest of the class?" he asked in Japanese, irritated that his nap had been cut short.

"Russia on fire, flew into hot air, made plane shake, bad news," Lyra relayed as she tucked her harmonica safely away.

"Thanks for the Caveman Nightly News update," Yusuke drawled as he rolled out of his nest.

"Had to make sure you could understand it," Lyra winked, earning a bay of laughter from Kuwabara.

"Oh fuck off, both of y–" Yusuke's comeback was interrupted by the the plane dropping violently to the right, sending anyone and anything that wasn't strapped down tumbling.

"What the hell did we hit, Marsh?" Grayson shouted to his navigator as he struggled to pull up on the yoke.

Lieutenant Marsh cursed as sirens began blaring from the control panel. "We didn't hit anything, something hit us! But there's nothing on radar!"

"Energy blasts won't show up on radar," Kurama said calmly as he sat down and buckled in.

"Oh shit..." Lyra shuddered and followed the fox's lead.

Lieutenant Marsh's jaw fell slack as they dipped low enough through the smoke to see the glowing orange of the fire below. "Tell me I'm not the only one who sees that!"

"We can all see the fire, Marsh," Grayson mumbled as he finally leveled off.

"No," she hissed, leaning over to grab Grayson by the chin and forcing him to look to the right, " _that!_ "

Grayson sunk back into the pilot's chair, his eyes wide. A few hundred yards away, a large, humanoid figure with black wings hovered in the sky. It was hard to make out, but there was a small orb of light flickering close to the flowing robes that covered the figure. The Lieutenant had no idea what it was, but he had the distinct feeling that the light meant trouble. "Major..."

Matapang leaned forward into the cockpit, squinting into the distance to see what his lieutenants were so worried about. As soon as he spotted the winged creature, the small orb began to grow larger at an alarming rate. "Incoming fire!"

Before Grayson could make a move, the Major had him by the collar of his flight suit and yanked him out of his seat. Matapang was in the pilot's chair and had the plane banking to the left as quickly as the large aircraft could maneuver, but it was too late to avoid the attack. The ball of energy hit the right wing, detonating the fuel stores and ripping into the cabin.

It was a horrible time for Hiei to wake up.

* * *

 **[A/N]** Man, these guys are really turning into world travelers, huh? I didn't really think about it until I was trying to wrap up this episode, but there's been portal hopping, dangerous car rides with Botan, Mukuro's mobile fortress, a top secret C-130, and a neon speedboat tugged by a peppy wind demon! Gods... when I put it like that it sounds like a mess... lol

Today's title comes not from lyrics, but from the 1959 LP titled _Moanin' in the Moonlight_ by the great Howlin' Wolf! I'll be posting the song _Smokestack Lightning_ on my tumblr for those interested in hearing some of the best blues to ever grace the earth.

And holy crow! I got a couple of spectacular reviews since my last post. Thank you so much to **Totidem Verbis** and to the **guest** reviewer! Y'all made my heart melt!


	19. I've Listened to Preachers

.

* * *

 **All of the Pieces**

[Episode Nineteen]

 _I've Listened to Preachers_

Wherein there are two terrible approaches.

* * *

Touya jumped back as the disgruntled mechanic swung a tire iron at him. The very large human shouted something in Russian that the shinobi could only assume was a curse, his massive fists glowing as they squeezed tighter around the impromptu weapon. The mob behind the man, their eyes all glazed over with madness, followed with a chorus of their own approving howls. "It seems that we're back on track, Jin."

"Must be," Jin hummed from his safe place, hovering with his legs crossed about fifteen feet from the ground. Or, at least, what he had assumed was a safe place. His ears twitched in irritation at the screeching grandmother below him as he dodged a set of knitting needles thrown at his head. "Looks like the whole town's been hit with the crazy stick."

Touya looked behind him at the sound of something crackling. He tilted his head in confusion at the sight of a young boy, no older than three or four, throwing small fireballs at a goat; the animal easily avoiding the clumsy attempts. "This makes no sense, they attack without pattern or reason. Whatever is causing this, I don't believe it to be an intentional effect."

"I'd say _that_ looked pretty intentional," Jin said curiously, his head tilted up to the sky. The flash of light above him was followed a shortly by the sound of the explosion, and he could make out the outline of a plane in the dark blanket of smoke that had long ago replaced the sky.

The ice demon jumped up to a rooftop to avoid the angry mob around him as he scanned the skies, his keen eyes quickly spotting movement not far from the plane. Black wings. "Tengu! Jin, that must be them!"

The Wind Master didn't need to hear another word, he was already headed up. As he closed in on the one-sided aerial battle, he had intended to go to his friends first, but the tengu had other plans. The winged-creature was preparing to attack again, and Jin knew that another hit would destroy the aircraft before anyone on board had a chance. He whirled his arm as he flew, winding up a tornado around his fist, and collided with the tengu's beak like a missile.

As the beast tumbled back through the smoke, a second swooped in before Jin could even think of a rescue plan. Talons locked around his shoulder, digging into skin, and spun him around to face his next opponent. The bird demon let out a horrible mix between a squawk and a shout, a gnarled dagger that smelled like acid coming up to meet Jin's throat.

The Wind Master smiled, his canines peeking from his lips in true amusement. "You've made a mistake, friend."

* * *

The parachutes were on fire, and Lieutenant Grayson had decided, definitively, that this was the worst day of his life. It didn't help that the short demon in black was awake now and apparently threatening to set the rest of the plane on fire.

"Hiei, you might wanna hold onto something!" Kuwabara shouted as he grabbed the bewildered Lieutenant Grayson and forced him down into a seat.

"Major, we have no clear path to land, we'll break up on impact!" Marsh shouted, pounding her fists against her control panel as none of her readouts would respond.

"Yup," Matapang grunted in the affirmative, still wrestling with the yoke, trying to level off as the plane careened downward. Even if it was hopeless, he would try to the very end. He spared a look down to his legs as he felt a strange crawling sensation. His heart nearly stopped beating when he realized that a web of vines was growing up from the floor, surrounding himself and Lieutenant Marsh. "What the–"

Yusuke leaned into the cockpit between the two officers, rapping his knuckles against the windshield. He looked back, gaining a nod of approval from Kurama as the cabin started to look a bit like a jungle. They had already depressurized, so the plan couldn't really hurt as far as Yusuke was concerned.

As far as the Major was concerned... well, he was just _concerned_. "What are you doing? No no no..." he stammered as Yusuke smiled and pressed his index finger against the windshield.

The blast of the Spirit Gun wasn't as loud as Matapang had anticipated; the act itself seemed completely silent, even as it disintegrated the glass and acrylic layers of the windshield. The only boom came from the sound of the wind abruptly rushing in. If they hadn't already lost cabin pressure from the last explosion, the sudden shift in air would have blown the ear drums out of every human on board. He quickly grabbed his oxygen mask, and nodded approvingly when he saw that Lieutenant Marsh had already beat him to doing the same.

As they rapidly approached the ground behind the blue stream of light, the humans in the cockpit could only watch in awe as the energy ripped into the earth, carving a trough through trees, dirt, and stone to give them a clear landing pad. The Major had managed to correct their angle just enough to prevent the entire fuselage from collapsing on impact, but the landing gear did not fare as well. The wheels snapped as soon as they touched down, sending the plane sailing forward on its belly.

What was left of the right wing snapped off, the shift in weight rolling the plane to the left. The remaining wing broke under the pressure, grinding off against the walls of the ditch, and taking a chunk of the fuselage with it. When the aircraft finally came to a stop on its side and the dust settled, Yusuke let go of his death grip on one of the control panels and set to ripping the vines from around his ankles.

"Everybody alive?" the Mazoku coughed, certain he had inhaled a few pebbles. The plane was on its left side now, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Grayson laying back in their seats, while Hiei and Lyra dangled from their airborne seats on the right.

"I hurt too bad to be dead, so yeah," Kuwabara grunted as he tried to sit up.

"Kurama, you and I are going to have a _word_ when this is all finished," Hiei hissed as he cut through the vines pinning him to the now-roof of the plane and dropped down to glare at the fox, sheathing his katana with a purposeful click.

Kurama gave a small smile as he helped Grayson out of his web. "Of course, I'm sure these words will be entertaining."

Hiei was about to bite back when something crashed into the ground just a couple of yards from the wreckage, a cloud of dust and black feathers surrounding a lump that had once been a tengu. Jin floated effortlessly down next to the fleshy meteorite, making no more sound than the feathers that delicately fell next to the body in the crater. His red hair danced like a flame in the current of wind surrounding his body, his ears wiggling in satisfaction.

Yusuke was not impressed. "You could have jumped in to help _before_ our plane was blown to shit," he grumbled as he dusted himself off.

Jin rolled his eyes and pulled a communicator out from his waistband, tapping it with his fingernail. "How was I supposed to know you nits were even close if you don't keep me in the loop? I don't keep this goofy lookn' mirror on me to check my mascara, y'know."

Yusuke patted his pocket where his communicator sat idle, pursing his lips in thought. Maybe Keiko had been right about him being absolutely terrible at calling...

"Who, and or _what_ , the hell are you?" Matapang grunted as he stepped out of the wreckage. His hips and back popped in protest from the abuse, his inner Danny Glover quick to remind him that he was, indeed, too old for this shit.

Kurama opened his mouth to introduce Jin, but the breezy demon beat him to the punch. "Jin the Windmaster, air support extraordinaire!" he announced with a proud thumb pointed to his chest.

"You speak English?" Kurama asked, his brow arching almost imperceptibly.

"Yup!" Jin crowed in excitement. "I watched a lot of American movies at Genkai's place, got tired of reading subtitles."

Kuwabara cleared his throat, starting to feel a little left out as the pool of people around him not speaking his language increased. "So, what's the situation? Why did you call us out here? I thought that the Spirit Cannon would have blown anything interesting to bits."

"After hearing about the decimation in India from Jin, I expected as much," a calm voice emanated from the burnt remains of forest that surrounded the group. In true shinobi form, Touya stepped out of the shadows that he had been a silent part of. It hadn't been too hard for him to follow the descent of the flaming aircraft and catch up to his friends, especially not with the brilliant flash of the spirit gun to light his way.

"I investigated the explosion site and found no trace of whomever the target might have been, but the surrounding areas began experiencing some unusual effects. The nearest town to the west inexplicably erupted into violence, humans attacking each other and destroying buildings without any evident cause," the ice demon stepped passed the bloody lump of tengu, sparing a half-disgusted, half-impressed look between it and the Windmaster. "Before the media completely blacked out, I watched the news reports as more towns began exhibiting the same behavior. It started to look like a path, so I followed. I lost the trail for a short while, but found my way back at the town just north of here."

"So something is traveling, and spreading madness in its wake," Hiei didn't bother phrasing it as a question. Knowing that he was standing on a hunting trail focused all of his awareness to his surroundings, previous quarrels with a certain fox quickly forgotten.

"Yeah, and it's frustratin' as hell," Jin lamented as he picked at his ear. "Whatever this thing is, it doesn't have a regular energy pattern. Sometimes we feel it, strong as a swig from Chu's personal reserve, other times it isn't there at all. Like a firefly blinking in and out and– are you just gonna leave her up there all day?" he veered off course as he spotted Lyra still dangling from her vine-wrapped seat, a small smirk of amusement on his lips.

She hung there, silently fuming at being completely and utterly forgotten. "Good question!" she howled, but all pretense of intimidation was ruined by the image of her arms and legs flopping down like a rag doll.

Kurama willed the vines to loosen and gently lower the angry human to solid ground before they retreated and disappeared altogether. "My apologies," he said quietly, almost, _almost_ hiding the mirth in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Lyra huffed as she straightened her clothes and patted her hair down. She made her way over to the Major and his Lieutenants as they rummaged through the wreckage to find whatever bits of functioning equipment they could. She placed a gentle hand over Marsh's as she tried to turn on the mangled radio receiver, shaking her head. "Probably not a good idea to call for help just yet. If there are more tengu out there your rescuers will be shot down right along with us. We need to handle whatever is going on down here first."

Marsh looked at Lyra's hand over hers and bowed her head quickly to hide the ghost of a blush that rose on her cheeks. She turned to the Major for his approval, and distraction, and got a silent nod. "Marsh, Grayson, let's establish a perimeter. Every scrap of this wreckage is classified tech, we guard it until cleanup can get here," Matapang ordered, checking his sidearm to assure it hadn't been damaged.

"Don't know what you expect us to do with _these_ , but okay," Grayson muttered at his own sidearm, just out of earshot of the Major. He grimaced at the dust and ash that coated the weapon, and blew on it to clean it up. The ash flew up and tickled his nose, triggering a loud sneeze.

"What the fuck?!" Marsh screeched and stumbled back over a chunk of fuselage, her face painted with shock.

"Grayson? Grayson!" Matapang shouted as he turned to look in all directions, "where are you?!"

Lieutenant Grayson tilted his head at his comrades' obvious stupidity. He hadn't moved an inch, after all. He held out his hand to wave at them, but his heart sank into his stomach at what he saw.

Or rather, didn't see.

"I'm invisible! Oh shit! Ohshitshitshit..." he spun around like a madman in an attempt to see any part of himself, but to no avail. All anyone could see of him was the dust kicked up from the ground as he scrambled in circles.

"Uh, is there something you left out, Touya?" Yusuke asked as he watched the hectic set of foot prints spin around themselves.

"We have noticed that many of the humans that have been infected by the madness have also been developing powers," the ice demon said. "I haven't seen the effect happen so quickly, however."

"Probably means were gettin' closer to it," Jin supposed.

"Or it is getting closer to us," Kuwabara shivered despite himself. Being without his spirit awareness was a cold, naked feeling that he was growing to hate.

"Is there any way to reverse–" Lyra was interrupted by a sudden flash of a fist in her periphery. She moved to duck, but Matapang already had Lieutenant Marsh in a full-nelson before she could close the distance. She shrieked and flailed in his grasp, her eyes glazed over and lifeless, but her body in full attack mode.

Matapang grunted with effort as the lieutenant tried to wriggle from his hold and claw her way toward Lyra. She stomped on his instep in an attempt to break free, but he gritted through the pain and repositioned his arms into a choke hold, dragging her backwards as he did so to keep her off balance. After a few short moments of struggle, Marsh fell limp and the Major set her gently on the ground. "Plant boy–"

"Kurama," the fox interjected.

"Kurama, tie her down before she wakes up," he ordered, his tone livid. "And somebody tell me what the fuck is going on with my officers!"

Lyra placed a calming hand on the Major's shoulder, but he quickly jerked away. She tied not to take it too personally, the poor guy had just choked out his own lieutenant, after all. Trust might be a bit of an issue. "There is a supernatural force around here that has been causing humans to go mad and gain strange abilities they didn't have before."

"Why was I not informed of this possibility before we came to this hellhole?! What if it starts to effect me, what if... where's Grayson?" Matapang scanned the area, eyes alert.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Lyra tried to keep her voice even, but the Major had grabbed her by the shoulders with an iron grip.

"There is a potentially hostile invisible guy wandering around here. _With a gun_ ," he enunciated his last few words by shaking Lyra's shoulders with each syllable.

A shot echoed in the clearing, a ring piercing everyone's ears at the sound. Within a blink, Hiei had sprung towards the muzzle flash and tackled the unseen Grayson, and Matapang had instinctively thrown himself and Lyra to the ground. The group looked around in the heavy silence that followed, the demons unconcerned for themselves, but worried for their human companions.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted, breaking the eerie calm as a flush of red grew from his friend's side, staining his white muscle shirt with the brazen color.

Kuwabara looked down at himself, his motion robotic as the sudden shock of pain temporarily made him forget how to move his own body. His legs crumpled and he fell to his knees, his hands finally remembering how to function and rushing up to grasp at the hole in his flesh. He made no sound, mesmerized by the hot blood seeping through his fingers. After brushing bullets off so easily with his battle aura, he'd taken for granted how much getting hit with one would actually _hurt_.

The Mazoku was by him in an instant, the others quickly gathering in a protective circle. Hiei unsheathed his katana, the black of his eyes growing deeper than black had any right to be, and had the blade against the ghostly neck of the struggling human underneath him.

"Hiei, no!" Kuwabara shouted and threw his arm out, wincing from the motion. "He isn't in control, it isn't his fault. I'll be..." he faltered through his ragged breathing and forced a smile, "I'll be fine. I was jacked up worse than this after tangling with Rinku!"

Hiei relaxed the taut muscles in his neck and sheathed his sword, silently cursing himself for giving into anger so easily. Over _Kuwabara_ , of all people. He tried to not look disgusted with himself as he removed one of his belts and hogtied the growling, invisible lump beneath him.

Matapang approached the bloodied Kuwabara with a medical kit he had dug from the wreckage, only to be stopped by the bone-crushing grip of Yusuke. The Mazoku narrowed his eyes at the man that was getting too close to _his_ human. He didn't bother to speak, knowing that the Major wouldn't understand a word of it, but the look was more than enough to convey the message.

 _'Don't you fucking touch my brother.'_

The Major took a deep breath, fighting back his first instinct to start swinging at being held like that. "I can help. I know more about gunshot wounds than any of you, I'm willing to bet on it."

"Yusuke," Kurama whispered with a cool stoicism that brought the former detective back to reality.

Yusuke released his grip and nodded for the Major to go ahead, snatching the holstered sidearm from his hip before he could make any protest. The human hadn't shown any signs of being affected by the madness yet, but recent events had proven that the switch could be instantaneous, and he would not hesitate to rip Matapang's head off if necessary.

Everyone stood quietly, blood pumping and auras on high-alert as the Major cleaned the wound and stitched it up. Something was wrong, even Lyra and Kuwabara could feel it, despite their missing energy. Hushed, stale air had replaced the wind and the sounds of the distant fire. Every breath, every scuff of a shoe booming loud in the void. They all felt as if they were standing on the tracks and a noiseless train had its headlight pointed at them.

The _snip_ of the scissors brought all eyes back to Kuwabara as Matapang completed the knot in his final stitch. The Major's hands were shaking, his breathing nearly as rough as Kuwabara's now. He let out a shaky sigh and sat back in the dirt, scooting himself away from his patient. His eyes carried a tinge of panic as he looked up to the red fox next to him.

"Get me... get me away from everyone, before it happens to me," Matapang said through his teeth as they began to clamp together against his will.

Before Kurama could even reach down to help the Major up, the air in front Kuwabara began to ripple like a mirage, a ball of prismatic light growing around it. Jin popped over and placed a hand on Kuwabara's back as he started to shake like a leaf. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the human looked up at him with blank, white eyes.

"Ay, what's this creepiness, then?" Jin floundered as he took a step back.

Kuwabara's mouth began to move, but the voice that came out of him belonged to someone else. Fearful and distorted, a feminine voice called out, "he is coming!"

Lyra felt the voice crawl through every nerve in her body, remnants of dreams playing through her mind. "Kannon."

The dead stillness of the air gave way to a flood of energy, sinister tidal waves of power sucking the air from every lung. The smoldering trees began to snap as something massive plodded toward them, slow and deliberate. Whatever was approaching them was darker than shadow, completely swallowing the orange glow of the surrounding embers as it came closer.

"Run or die," Kannon warned.

* * *

 **[AN]** I have a confession, the first little snippet of this episode with the little boy was inspired by my goofball of a husband. Every time he plays Skyrim he launches every goat he sees with a fireball spell, and now I've gotten into the habit of it as well, so the little boy was a shameless nod to his derpyness. I know that I've been very spotty with my updates, and I apologize. I have a new schedule, and it's been playing hell on my chronic illness, but I think I'm getting back into the groove. I'm super thankful for the love I've gotten in reviews, messages, and on Tumblr!

Today's episode title comes from Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne, a song that I have a massive love/hate relationship with because it was pretty much the only damn song my local rock radio station played growing up.

Much thanks to my wonderful reviewers from last episode, Baoh joestar and casjowar!


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